Caught In Between
by TheQueenV
Summary: Vivian hid a secret from her husband, Jeff, but when he discovers what it's been, their life changes and takes on a direction that neither of them imagined. When their marriage starts spiraling down, she finds comfort in her best friend of ten plus years, and soon their feelings can no longer be contained.
1. Chapter 1

_Vivian has to make a choice. Be a wrestler's wife, or raise their unexpected child without him. As the years go by, she starts regretting the decision she's made. She knows there's nothing Jeff wouldn't do to see her again, and to know of the child that came from their love. But will it be the same?_

_**A/N: **__I was kind of hesitant to begin this, simply because there are so many details that go with the whole wrestling scene, and I simply didn't want to put forth the effort. However, for the moment, I feel up to the challenge of it. I don't know how long it's going to be, or what's to come of it._

_**Second A/N and Disclaimer:**__ I'm not basing any matches or events off of any actual WWE/TNA storyline. I haven't really kept up with what's currently going on, and I've barely watched any of it in about a year or two. Also there will be some characters that are no longer with WWE/TNA. I do not own any WWE superstar and/or storyline events, nor do I claim to. Vince McMahon owns all copyrights. I do not own any TNA wrestler and/or storyline, nor do I claim to. Whoever the owner of TNA is owns all copyrights._

_Tampa, Florida - August 2010 - Vivian's bedroom_

She woke up with a stir, her eyes slowly creeping open. The sun was yet to fully rise, yet something had bumped her out of the deep sleep that washed over her the night before. She remembered being too exhausted to even finish watching the wrestling pay-per-view. Her thoughts wondered back to last night's event. He was in the main event. For the championship. And she hadn't even finished watching his match. With a heavy sigh, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed, her toes meeting soft, plush creme colored carpet. Wearily, she smiled, remembering when he had bought this house for her just as he became big. It was one of the first things he'd done, besides buying himself a car that wasn't a rust bucket waiting to sputter to death. He had redone and ordered everything the way she asked, and her home had ended up being light and airy, giving a cool, crisp feeling. The creme carpet met with warm taupe colored walls with white crown moldings and white base boards.

As she fought not to lay her head back onto her waiting pillow, she picked herself up off the bed, and made her way into the bathroom, which was also just the way she wanted it. Cherry wood cabinets with pink-hued marble tops stood on a matching marble tiled floor. The walls, the same taupe color as the rest of the house, were slightly textured with a pink and white marble design. The same design that Jeff and herself spent hours perfecting in each of the bathrooms, as she swore up and down that the men who contracted the work on the house weren't doing what she had asked. She fought back a little laugh as she traipsed over to the sink to wash her hands.

A voice from inside her bedroom caught her attention.

"Shawn," she said, coming out of the bathroom, clipping her hair up into a neat knot.

"We're going to the show tonight, mom?" His greenish-hazel eyes could barely contain his excitement.

"Of course we are. Do we ever miss a show?" she teased, pursing her lips and placing a hand on her hip. "Go take your shower. Breakfast will be ready when you're done." She watched the little boy happily bounce out of her room and head back to his room at the end of the hallway. Before taking her own shower, she made her way to make breakfast.

_RAW arena - 7:45 PM - Backstage_

Christian could see the concerned look on his friend's face. He knew of the woman that his friend thought of often. Knew of the years they'd spent apart. Knew that she'd be sitting front row like she always was. And he even knew that she would be bringing the son his friend had with this woman. He and Vivian became close to one another, clicking instantly as best friends. Everyone had thought that he'd be the one who ended up with the girl, but no... It was the sad-faced man who sat on a bench, aimlessly pushing items around in his opened duffel bag on the floor. He watched as Jeff slid on a long lime green holey arm band.

"How's it going, man?" Christian asked as he straddled the end of the bench, his heart wrenching a bit as Jeff looked up at him with blank eyes.

"Going good," he lied. "Just thinking."

"You, uh - " He cleared his throat, trying to wash away the blatant emotions in his voice. "You know Viv will be here tonight, right?"

"Yeah," he said looking back down to his disheveled bag. "I always see her with her nephew."

"You ever invite her backstage?"

Jeff shook his head, pulling on black and lime green arm bands as he did with the other arm. "No point. She's avoided me for years now."

"It's never too late to make things right," Christian pushed, thinking back to the conversation he and Vivian had just a few hours ago on the phone. "She wants to see you."

"How do you know?" he asked, snapping his head back to Christian.

"Well, we kind of spoke - "  
"You talk to her? And you don't tell me! Man!" He stood, trying to compose himself as he leaned his forearm against the metal locker door. But he lost any ounce of control he had, punching the locker door, leaving a slight dent. "Seems like she'll talk to anyone but me!"

"Like I said, it's never too late."

"What did she say?"

Christian tipped his head up. "Said she wanted to see you and talk to you. Said she missed you. She's been thinking about you for months now." Christian's words ended at the heavy sigh Jeff expelled. "Not saying you have to be with her again, but you do need to talk to her."

Jeff ran a large hand through his multicolored hair. He tried not to tense as Christian stood and patted his back, before heading out of the locker room. Jeff couldn't help but glare at the man as he left, the door loudly clicking shut behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

_RAW arena – 8:21 PM – Parking lot_

"Hello?" she answered her phone as she turned off her car.

"Where did you park?"

"By the VIP entrance. Why?"

"Good. You and Shawn come in these doors. I'm waiting."

"Did you talk to Jeff?"

"Yeah, and I can tell he's not happy."

"You mean he's disappointed in me," she said with a slight raise of her eyebrows. She ushered Shawn out of the back seat, taking his hand as they scurried their way across the busy parking lot.

"He's just disappointed in what happened." He lowered his phone from his ear, as she did with her own, when the two approached him. "And he still loves you."

"Well, thank you, Dr. Love, but I think it's going to take more than 'I love you baby, be with me' to fix this now." She ducked a bit as she walked under the arch of Christian's arm and the opened door, pushing Shawn behind her, effectively sandwiching him between her and Christian. She caught the stares of a few fans shoving their way through the packed crowd in a roped-off area.

Once escorting them to a secluded area, he waved them to a set of oversized black leather couches. Before he could sit with Vivian, Shawn squeezed his middle.

"Uncle Jay!"

"Well, hello to you too," he said, hugging the little boy in return. "Did you watch Summer Slam last night?"

"I sure did! I saw you fight!"

Christian led the boy to sit on the couch between him and his mother. "Did you see your da – "

Vivian cleared her throat loudly, stopping him from completing his question. A figure walking into the cove averted their attention. She stood immediately at seeing who it was.

"Matt!" She accepted the hug he offered, seeing his eyes light up as she pulled away from his embrace. "It's been too long."

"Yeah, it has been. Listen, Jeff will be in a few minutes. He'll be so happy to see you." He smiled at her, waving at Christian as he walked off.

"Why did they come around this way?"

"I told Matt that I would meet you here, knowing he wouldn't fail to tell Jeff."

"Great," she huffed, plopping back down on the couch. "He's going to go out of his way to see me and hate me all over again."

"Viv, I don't think he ever hated you."

"Jeff Hardy, mom?" the little voice said, bringing her from the depth of her thinking.

"The one and only," she said, smiling and tapping his nose with a manicured finger. She leaned back into the couch cushion, waiting for the doomed moments with Jeff to arrive. "So what do I say?" she asked after several minutes of silence. She crossed her legs, popping her gum as she looked to Christian for an answer.

"How about you at least say hi this time."

The voice that came from off to the side behind her startled her. She nearly jumped off the couch, almost backing up into her son.

"I'll take him backstage," Christian offered, taking Shawn's hand and guiding him through the black canvas curtains.

"Your nephew looks happy to be here tonight," Jeff said calmly as he crossed one arm over to the other. In his hand he held a Hardy jersey which Vivian was staring at. "I got this for you." He passed the jersey to her. "And this for him." In the hand that was crossed over, was a signed Hardy baseball cap.

"Thanks," she breathed out, taking the hat from him. "He'll love it." She fingered the signature lightly before tossing both items onto the couch. "Jeff, I – "

"Why did you agree to have Christian let you in? So you could just taunt me again?"

"No," she said slowly. "I thought it would be good if Shawn finally met you on a personal level. I know he's seen you around before, but he needs more."

"Why? He's your nephew. Do his parents agree with you taking their son to every wrestling event that passes through?"

She looked down at the vibrant lime green painted toes. "Well, one of them does."

"And the other?" he asked, tilting his head towards her, not wanting to play cute with her.

She looked up at him now, bright hazel eyes nearly giving in to the tears that threatened to flow at any second. When she lowered her head again, the anger he felt deep inside melted away as the soft shake of her shoulders told him the tears had won. He pulled her close to him, and she immediately molded into him like she always did. Without even realizing it, his hand was gently stroking her long, dark loosely curled hair. Her scent drawing him in faster than anything else he could imagine, he buried his head into the soft nook between her shoulder and neck.

"I swear, I didn't mean for this to happen," she cried softly on his chest.

"What?" he asked, his brows furrowing. "What do you mean?"

She lifted her head, her mouth parted to start explaining, but before she could speak a word, Christian came back through the curtain, Shawn hand-in-hand right beside him.

"They're looking for you in Creative, Jeff."

Jeff looked over at Christian, and his eyes trailed over the square-faced little boy. His bright hazel green eyes looking up at him like he really knew him. His brown hair had a layer of dark blond streaking the top. He looked so familiar to Jeff, it was almost uncanny. As he continued to look at the five year old, he hardly noticed Christian cross over to Vivian.

"Come with me," Christian said to Vivian. "I'll take you to catering and you can get some food."

She nodded, mumbling something in agreement as she furiously wiped tears from her face. She saw the worried look on her son's face, but assured him she was fine, then presented him with the baseball cap, which he promptly placed on his head. The three of them left out of the curtain, leaving Jeff slightly confused as to what Vivian meant. He stood there for a few moments, contemplating, then dismissed his thoughts as he headed for the conference room of the Creativity department.

_RAW arena - 10:25 PM - Hardy's locker room_

"I bought tickets for nothing."

"I thought you talked to Christian?" Jeff asked as he pulled on a sleeveless wrestling shirt.

"I did, but I bought the tickets beforehand."

"Ah," he said at her explanation. "Don't worry about it. I'll give you back the money. Besides, if you two still want to sit first row, you can go out there any time you'd like."

"You next?" Vivian asked with a slight smile.

"Yeah, our segment is next. Are you going to watch? Or do you just want to stay back here and wait for me... ?" he asked, trailing off as he tried to ignore the beautiful face looking at him. He was trying so hard to contain himself, and not to drag her off into an empty room to have his way with her... like they used to. "Wait for me?" The question escaped his lips again as she turned to Shawn.

"What do you want to do, sweetie? Wait back here, or go watch?" The twinkle in her eye sent a wide smile across the boy's face.

"Let's go watch," he giggled, quickly placing his chubby hands over his mouth.

Vivian winked at him, then held out her hand for him to hold. "Alright," she said. "Do you have to use the bathroom?" At the shake of his head, they proceeded to walk past Jeff. "Be safe and thanks."

Jeff grabbed her arm before she could pass him all the way. Before he could stop himself, he placed a soft kiss on her lips. She stiffened up but didn't pull away, and couldn't help but love Jeff's smile.

"Come back after the match?"

She nodded as she caressed the side of his face. "I'll be waiting for you."

_Jeff Hardy vs. Edge - 10:58 PM - Ringside seats_

"He's winning, mommy!"

Vivian winced as Jeff dove off the top turnbuckle, flipping in mid-air, and landing the Swanton Bomb perfectly onto Edge. She grabbed Shawn's hand as the referee counted the three pin. The announcer could barely begin to state that Jeff was the winner before the crowd became ten times louder, cheering for Jeff. His music started bumping in the arena when Vivian scooped up Shawn, holding his head into her shoulder as they made their way backstage.

Christian stood in the hallway in his wrestling tights, a white towel slung over his shoulder.

"Hey," he said, spotting them from where he leaned against the wall. "Enjoy the match?"

"Yeah!" Shawn answered before Vivian could place him down on the floor. He reached out for Christian, his mother happily giving the squirming little boy over to the wrestler. "Jeff Hardy won!"

Vivian turned from the overly-happy sight, seeing Jeff limp through the stage curtains and down the steps. She walked up to him, holding out her hand, while the other went to her eyes to wipe away a tear.

"What?" Jeff said in a quiet voice. "I'm fine."

"I hate that you get so hurt."

A soft rumble came from his chest as he spoke. "You always worried about me. And I've always been fine." He looked down at Vivian's sides. "Where's Shawn?"

Her voice still tight with emotion, she motioned over to where the boy in question was hiked up on Christian's hip. Shawn happily clapped his hands as the show came to an end. Before Vivian could gather strength in her legs to walk, Jeff strode over to the duo and took Shawn from Christian. She could barely make out what Jeff said to Christian, but he nodded at Jeff and walked off down the hallway opposite of them.

"Jay's leaving?" she asked as Jeff and Shawn came back to her.

"Yeah," Jeff answered as he patted the tired little boy's head. "Listen, if you're not opposed to it, I'd like to come over. Spend some time with you and Shawn while I can." At her reluctance, he added, "If you don't mind."

"No," she said, placing a hand on her forehead. "No, I don't mind at all."

"Good, let me just grab my bag." When she reached for Shawn, he turned the boy away from her. "No, I got him. You go. Meet me around out back."

She quietly agreed, and watched the two turn the corner towards Jeff's locker room. Standing there a minute, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath in.

"Isn't that a nice little reunion?" a deep voice hissed out. "When were you going to tell him, Viv?"

She faced the hateful voice. "You're not a part of it. Mind your business."

"Oh, honey, I am, believe me." He swung a white towel over his shoulder. "Because if it weren't for you, none of us would have to had to lie to a man about his son."

"He's my son too, Adam." She glowered at him, her eyes becoming snake-like slits.

"Yeah, and you seemed to have played that card all too well. You have me and Jay lying about it. You even have his own brother harboring your secret. And all because you're scared he'll find out you spread your legs - "

"Hey! Shawn is his, okay?" she interrupted, her voice a hushed tone slightly above a whisper. "You're the one to talk after you did what you did to Matt. I didn't judge you then, so don't judge me now." Turning on her heel, she started to walk down the hallway towards an exit when his grating voice spoke again.

"I bet you didn't tell your Hardy boy that you were in love with Jay, did ya? That you two had a fling, did ya? You can try and hide it all you want, Viv, but it was obvious to anyone who saw you two."

Vivian hesitated for a moment before pressing her lips together, exhaling deeply, and continued to walk along, ignoring Edge's accusations.

_RAW arena - 11:59 PM - Parking lot_

"What took you so long?" Jeff asked, placing the sleeping little boy into the booster chair in the back seat of Vivian's car.

"Nothing," she said quickly. "Where's your car?"

"I came with Matt, and he left a while ago." He buckled Shawn in snugly, then opened the front passenger door. "What do you mean by nothing?"

She sighed, sliding into her seat and quietly shutting her door. "Nothing means nothing. You gonna get in?"

He nodded his head once, climbing into the seat and shutting his door. "After being with you for seven years, I think I know your tone better than you realize, and that nothing definitely means something. Did you talk to someone?"

She didn't speak, leaving Jeff's question lingering in the air as she smoothly wound around the parking lot. They were pulling up into the driveway to her house before she opened her mouth again.

"If you can get him out of the car without waking him up, I'd appreciate it." She quickly turned off the car, popping the trunk as she did, and just as quickly, she got out of the car to grab Jeff's bag from the trunk. Jeff could barely nod his head in agreement as she carried his duffel bag to the front door, but he was shortly behind her, a sleeping Shawn in his arms. The cool, crisp air of the house hit his lungs, easing his nerves from the unanswered question still between them.

"Where's he staying?"

"His room is down the hall, second on the right."

"He has a room here?"

She nodded, pulling Jeff's bag into the den. She looked down, refusing to look at him as he walked carefully down the hallway, disappearing into Shawn's bedroom. Vivian was sitting at the kitchen table, staring out of the windows. The water slapped onto the nighttime sands, and gently rolled back to join the rest of the ocean. She loved this view. Loved this kitchen, and when Jeff first saw her looking out onto the beach like she was now, he couldn't tell her no. Back then, a smile was plastered to her face, but now a sullen, worried look overpowered any smile she could have.

"Are you going to tell me what's bothering you?" he asked her, sitting across from her at the cherry wood table. "Or do I have to get it out of you?"

She gave him a falsified smile. "You always knew what to do to make me smile, Jeff. It's one of the reasons why I absolutely loved you." Her sad eyes turned back to the shoreline.

"Did I stop making you laugh?"

"No," she answered, not looking at him.

"Were you ever unhappy with me?"

"Never."

He hesitated before taking a breath. "Did you stop loving me?"

The same sad eyes that stared out into the night waters became tender with emotions as she looked over at him, trying her best to give a genuine smile. "I still love you, Jeff."

His head dropped into his hands, his voice breaking as he spoke. "So then what happened that you would leave me?" At her silence, he looked up at her, his fingers rubbing over his facial hair. "What happened? Was it someone else?"

"Sort of."

"What do you mean _sort of_? Damn it, Viv! I want some answers!" He successfully fought the urge to slam a large hand on the table, but tightened back his lips. "You know you were the only person who ever had all of my trust. With everything. With my career, with my money, my love." He looked up at her. "With my whole life. And all you did was throw it back at me."

"I did not, Jeff. It's not as simple - "

"Then what was it? Huh? Being Mrs. Hardy was too much for you?"

"That is not fair. I never once regretted marrying you. And it wasn't someone else like how you're thinking. I was always faithful to you."

"Really?" he challenged. "Not what I heard." He leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Is that what you're making this about? A few little rumors, which by the way, Randy had his eye on me since he was knee-high to a grasshopper. That was ten years ago he had a crush on me. He was a kid. Do you honestly think I'd look his way?"

"So now you're going to make this about Orton? I find it funny you'd say that right away. Feeling a little guilty?"

"I didn't have an affair with him!" she spat out, slapping her hand on the table. "I'm sorry you don't believe me, but I'm telling you the truth. I have never wanted to be with anyone else but you." She also crossed her arms underneath her ample breasts making Jeff's eyes target over to them. She narrowed her eyes as she once more looked back out to the beach, and spoke through tight lips. "Now, are we going to argue all night? Because if that's the case, I'd rather just go to bed."

"No," he said, sighing heavily. "I didn't ask to come here to argue with you. I wanted to talk to you. About Shawn."

Her eyes became round as she looked at him. "What about him?"

"I couldn't help but think earlier how much he looks like you. I know he's just your nephew, but he could be your son." A wide smile spread across his face as he thought of the little boy's bright face. "How old is Angie now?"

The question of her sister's age rattled her. Truth be told, she hadn't thought of Angie's age in ration to Shawn's, and she cursed herself silently. "She's twenty-two."

"With a five year old? Man, no wonder she depends on you so much. She still in school?"

Vivian swallowed hard, nodding her head, knowing all too well that her sister hadn't even attended college after graduating high school. She'd gone straight for a certification in nursing.

"In Florida?"

This time, she shook her head. "Up in Jersey."

"New Jersey? And she comes back down here for Shawn?"

"Yeah, she visits sometimes." She trailed off, feeling herself turn red. She felt like he was almost connecting the dots. "He starts school in a few days."

"Back up in Jersey?"

"No," she shyly said. "Here."

"Why does he stay with you so much? Does she ever have him?"

"Jeff, what's your point? She's up there, and we're down here. It's worked for years now." She stood from the table before he could say anything else. He stretched out his arms over the table top as she walked over to the refrigerator, hastily opening it and pulling out deli meats.

"Did you not eat at the show tonight?" he asked, standing.

"I did," she answered in short. "But that was hours ago."

"It was a few hours ago," he corrected as he stood behind her, watching as she put some roast beef on a slice of potato bread. "Are you pregnant?"

She nearly choked on her food, spinning around to face him. "Have you gone mad? It's a midnight snack, Jeff, not a pregnancy test."

"Have you ever thought of having kids?" he asked as she turned back around to the counter.

"Of course I have. I did marry a man. And I had intentions of having many kids with him one day. But," she paused as she turned back to him, a slice of bread folded in half with turkey meat on it. "He wanted to believe in everyone but me, and now I'm not sure if I'll ever have my husband back." She baited him to open his mouth by slightly parting hers. His bite nearly took the whole mini-sandwich, leaving just a bit at the end, which Vivian promptly finished.

"I did not," he said between chews, "believe everyone else. You basically forced me to believe in what I thought was to be true."

"Oh, I forced you?" she scoffed, putting away the deli meat and cleaning off the counter top. "Please, Jeff, no one can force you to do anything."

"No, not just anyone," he confirmed, wiping his mouth. "But you could."

"Could not. I wanted you to come see me when I was - " She froze up, realizing what she was going to say.

"When you were what?" he asked, noticing her tense up.

"When I wanted you to come here. I wanted you to come stay with me again. After we had split for a few months. I asked Jay if he could ask you to come back, and - " She thought of that day Christian had come to visit her while they both had been signed to the same wrestling promotion once more.


	3. Chapter 3

_January 2005 - 9:15 AM - Vivian's home_

"I'm glad you decided to come. I didn't think you'd get a second free." Vivian poured Christian a cup of coffee, sliding the creamer and sugar in front of him. "You hungry?" she asked, looking back at him as she put the coffee pot back on its heater.

"No, coffee will do. Thanks." He took a sip of the scolding liquid, watching Vivian as she moved around the kitchen. She already had the waffle iron heating up before he even rang the doorbell. And bless everything under the sun, he could smell the sausages he knew she made herself browning on the skillet.

"You sure?" she asked as she poured the first of the waffles into the hot iron. The hiss of the batter and the sweet scent wafting through the air made him double think.

"Then again, I'll have some." Her smile seemed to brighten the whole house, and certainly brightened his day. "So," he said with another sip. "I know you didn't invite me over just for breakfast. What gives?"

She graciously pulled down two plates from the cupboard as one hand braced her swelling tummy. "I just wanted to ask you, since he's with TNA now, if you could ask Jeff to come over. I wanted to show him in person why I felt the need to push him away."

"He doesn't know yet? Viv, it's been months."

"Mhm," she agreed. "Six to be exact, and I'm due in March. So I'd really appreciate your help right now."

"I can't lie to that man. Not anymore than I already have."

"I don't want to lie to him anymore either. Do you honestly think I like keeping this from him? I mean, I figured he'd find out from one of you."

Christian couldn't help the grin on his face. "And you think that's what I'm going to do? Tell him that you're not in New Jersey, and that it's not your baby sister pregnant, and that you're the one who's pregnant? With his child?"

"No," she denied.

The soft clink of the plate she placed in front of him broke the look he fixated on her, and he swiftly busied himself with cutting into a fluffy waffle. "You know he's never going to buy it, right?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, a sorrowful look washed across her face. She stood with her plate in front of her across from where Christian sat on a stool.

"He's not as crazy as everyone thinks he is. You slip up one time, and he'll fit all the jigsaw pieces together."

She stabbed her fork into a sausage. "I know. I'm just - just not ready."

"Not ready for what? You married the man three years ago. How ready can you get?"

Vivian couldn't help but stare at the man who sat across from her, telling her every ounce of truth. Since they had met, they instantly became best friends. And there wasn't a single person in the world that she'd rather have deep, life-altering conversations with. Not a single person except Jeff. She began talking to Jeff a year or so after being best friends with Christian. She never thought she'd fall for an up-and-coming wrestler. Thinking she'd avoided doing that with Christian, she became too sure of herself, and Jeff came in and swooped her up before she knew it.

Now here she stood, married and pregnant, asking her best friend to do something she was just too scared to do herself. She looked down at her plate, taking a forkful of waffle in her mouth before looking back up at him.

"Please?" she asked innocently. She couldn't help but smile at the laughter that erupted from Christian.

"Well, how can I say no when you have waffles stuffed in your mouth like that?"

The laughter continued as they finished their breakfast. But little did she know, any lightheartedness between the two of them stopped when he left. And little did she know, Christian would never do what his best female friend asked of him.

_August 2010 - 12:54 AM - Vivian's kitchen_

"And what?" Jeff urged.

"I just wanted you to come see me."

"Why didn't you come to the venue then? You knew where I was."

"I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"Just couldn't." She sidestepped the hold he lightly had on her. "Look, it's almost one. Pick whatever room you want. I'm going to bed."

Jeff stood there a moment, baffled at her evasive nature towards him. She was never like that to him, no matter what hardship they ever went through. He shook his head before following her.

"I don't understand why the hell you're being like this, Viv." He followed her into her bedroom, and to the bathroom.

"Like what?" she asked, stripping her black jeans from her legs.

Jeff stared at her legs, his mouth falling open at the legs he so vividly remembered holding onto every time they made love. "Like, uh... " He watched as she pulled the black and white star printed tank top over her head and toss it into the hamper like she'd done with the jeans. She stood in front of the sink, washing off the day's eye makeup.

She looked at him in the mirror out of the corner of her eye. He was standing in the doorway, an arm leaned up against the door frame. A small giggle escaped her lips as she saw his eyes scan down her body, back up to where her hands dried off her face. "Yes?"

"Where'd you get panties like that?"

"Jeff, I've had these for years."

"I don't remember seeing those," he stated, staring at her bottom as she pushed past him out of the bathroom.

"You've been gone for a while now."

"More like you made me go away." He laid down on the bed. "You don't mind me taking my old spot back, do you?"

"You should be there," she said, slipping on an old t-shirt of his and getting underneath the comforter.

"Why'd you kick me out then?"

"No, look," she started, pointing a finger at him. "You decided to leave after you wanted to fight with me over the phone. I went to work the next day, and you were gone. I remember because I was just starting to sh - "

"Starting to what?" he asked, realizing her sentenced paused.

"Good night." She lowered herself deeper in the bed, nearly covering her face with the comforter.

"See, this," he said, peeling down the covers. "This is what I'm talking about. You never used to just not tell me things. That's like the third time you've done that tonight. What's with you?"

She laid flat on her back, staring up at the high tray ceiling of her bedroom as she sighed deeply. "I think we need to talk over dinner tomorrow."

"Why can't we talk now?"

"Because I'm tired. I've had a five year old screaming about wrestling all day." She turned her head to him. "Do you think I want to stay up and chit-chat?"

"Fine," he smiled, pulling the comforter over both of them. "We'll talk tomorrow night."


	4. Chapter 4

Vivian woke up alone in the bed. She kept quiet, listening for the shower, but heard nothing. Moaning, she stirred from her warm cocoon. Before she even got to her bedroom door, the sound of laughter almost overpowering the loud television blasting from the den perked her ears. Walking out to where the noise was emanating from, she leaned against the wall in front of her room. She was welcomed to the morning with the sight of Jeff and Shawn playing an instrumental video game. While Jeff sang the tune, Shawn was doing his best to make as much noise as possible banging on the drums. When the song was over, Vivian straightened herself up and clapped for their performance.

"Bravo! My two best guys rocking it out."

"Morning," Jeff said as the next song continued. The most cheerful smile was spread across his face. Vivian began making breakfast as they continued, this time switching up. She couldn't help the laughter as Shawn sang, and Jeff was almost professional with the drums.

"Breakfast, boys! Put the game away for now!"

Swiftly, the noise and music ceased and they came into the kitchen area, sitting at the island stools. Shawn barely began eating his waffles when he started talking excitedly.

"Me and Jeff are in a band together, mommy!"

Vivian's body jolted as the little boy's words flew through the air. She slowly looked over her shoulder to Jeff, whose head was tilted in mass confusion. She saw him mouth the word 'mommy' and then look at her with cold eyes. She could feel his icy stare on her as her shoulders tensed up, but she put on her best smile at Shawn.

"Really, baby? That's awesome. Maybe you can write a song for me one day."

"Okay," he agreed happily, then turned his attention back to his breakfast, unaware of the building tension between his mother and unknown father.

"So much for talking tonight," Jeff said more to himself than to Vivian, and also directed all of his attention towards his plate.

At the end of breakfast, when Shawn had ran off into the den to watch cartoons, Jeff finally stood from his stool. Vivian was slowly washing off the dishes, placing them into the drying rack when Jeff brought his plate to her.

"What's his name?"

"You know his name, Jeff," she answered not looking up at him.

"What's his middle name?" he pressed on. She snatched the plate from his hand, but he didn't let it go, causing her to nearly fall into his direction. "I remember what you told me years ago. About giving our first son my middle name as his." When she didn't say anything, he demanded again. "His middle name, Viv."

The side look she nearly sneered at him almost burned a hole in his chest as she wrenched the plate from his fingers and continued washing dishes. "Nero," she finally said.

"When were you going to tell me? I had to find out after sleeping over after six years at breakfast?"

"Jay told me you didn't want to come see me. What was I supposed to do? Hang on like a desperate fan?"

"Whoa, wait, he told you what when?"

She sighed, clinking down the final dish back into the sink. "When you were both back in TNA, I asked him if he could ask you to come see me. He told me before the show that night that you weren't feeling up to it or some shit." She rinsed off the dish and placed it into the drying rack.

"When was this?"

"Does it matter? You didn't want to come." She hastily turned the faucet off and dried her hands on a kitchen towel.

"He never told me you wanted me to see you."

"What?"

"Yeah, I thought you were mad at me. Don't you think I would have jumped at the chance to see you just to know that you weren't mad at me that whole time?"

"He never told you?" she repeated his statement. "Never mentioned it?"

"Not a word."

"Why wouldn't he tell you? He said he would." Her words were soft with sadness. "I don't understand why he didn't ask you."

Jeff grabbed her chin with the tips of his fingers, realizing the hurt in her eyes. "It's okay. You can't change that."

"But," she breathed out. "I thought you didn't love me. I thought you didn't want to know. That you didn't care." Tears spilled over her lashes, hurt by the betrayal she felt from Christian. "Now Shawn doesn't even know who you are to him. You've missed out on so many things. His first birthday. His first words. His first year in school. You missed it all."

"I know, I know," he hushed her, bringing her head to his shoulder. His voice soothed her. "I have many more years to come to make up for it."

"I fucked up, Jeff. I should have went to that event. To show you."

"How far along were you?"

"Almost seven months," she whispered, gripping his shoulders as she hugged him. "I'm so sorry."

"Why don't you and Shawn come to the house show tonight?"

"You think I should?" she asked, pulling away from his embrace.

"We can hang out backstage."

"Okay," she said, her eyes sparkling as brightly as he always remembered they did. She fell into his warm hug again, his arm wrapped around her side as they went off into the den to their son.

_House show - 9:48 PM - Backstage_

"So, they just come in all happy-go-lucky and that's it?"

"What else is supposed to happen? You knew this was eventually going to happen. You know she loves him."

"And I also know that I was the one there for her all those years he wasn't. And now I'm just the uncle."

"_And_," he said with a point. "That's all you were ever going to be. Face it, Jay. She doesn't love you."

Christian stood, slinging his bag over his shoulder, a sodden look on his face. "So I should just take the backseat and ride it out, huh?"

Edge scoffed, dropping the arm he was sliding his elbow pad on. "What are you going to do? Kidnap her and the kid? Hold them hostage until she proclaims her undying love for you? Please, you have a better chance going back to your wife."

"I find it funny that it's so easy for you to say that now, but when you wanted Matt out of the picture, it was a different story."

"Leave me out of your situation. You put all of this on yourself for falling for her in the first place. As soon as she laid eyes on Hardy, you had no chance. So just do what every man in your situation does." He pursed his lips and waved a hand at Christian. "Tuck your tail between your legs and go home licking your wounds."

"Oh, that's what you did with your first two wives? Isn't it? Go back begging for them when every woman you laid down with didn't want you anymore."

"Hey, I didn't have to beg."

"I'm sure you didn't," Christian said almost underneath his breath as he turned around to walk out of the locker room door.

"You know what?" Edge started, giving up his argument. "Fine. Do whatever you want. But don't come crying back to me, like you did _all_ those years ago, when she breaks your heart - _again_ - and I tell you that I told you so."

Christian didn't say anything, but didn't break his glare on Edge as he left out of the room.

"""""

Vivian sat in Jeff's locker room, with Shawn sitting on her lap, both their eyes glued on the monitor that showed the repeat match between Jeff and Edge. She hadn't even heard the door open and click shut when a body sat down on the couch next to her. She pushed Shawn to the other side of her as she turned toward the unknown figure.

"Geez," he said in a upbeat tone. "Been with Jeff again for a day, and already I'm pushed to the wayside."

"Oh, thank gosh," she said, letting out the deep breath she held. "You scared me, Jay." She sat Shawn down on the plush leather couch between them. "And I'm not pushing you away. I just didn't expect you to come in."

He nodded, a slight grunt coming from his chest. "So," he started, fixing his eyes on the monitor. "How'd it go?"

Hating that his best friend's love life didn't include him, he almost blocked out what she was saying to him, giving only nodded and little voiced agreements every now and then. His mind drifted off to the years before she even knew of Jeff.


	5. Chapter 5

_November 1998 - 7:24 PM - WWE event in Connecticut_

"Oh!" she exclaimed, turning around to apologize to the body she bumped into. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to - "

"It's okay," his smiling face answered. His long blond hair was pulled neatly into a ponytail, and his eyes were covered by sunglasses. "You're catering, right?"

"Yes," she replied, brushing off her apron. "I am."

"Good food."

"Thanks. Are you new here?"

"Somewhat. They've had me and my partner in development for awhile."

"Don't know what to do with you, huh?" she said, giving a small laugh.

"More like they've been trying to find a way to debut Jay."

"Jay?" she repeated, correctly arranging trays of food on the white linen table. "I swear, people don't know how to arrange food properly."

"My partner. Goes by the name of Christian. Let me help you with that," he said, then took the large silver tray she held in one open palm. "You always do the food at these events?"

"Thanks,"she said quickly before answering his inquiries. "Not always, but I'm usually more busy this time of year anyway."

"You operate this whole thing?" he asked, sneaking a baby carrot off the tray.

"You could say that," she said as she took the tray from him and placed it in a spot that fit it perfectly.

He looked down at the newly arranged table. Each tray and dish were pieced together perfectly. "You're good at this."

She looked up at the tall man to thank him again, but before they could, another guy with long blond hair neatly tucked back into a ponytail walked up to them.

"Adam," he breathed out. "Adam, they're looking everywhere for you." He was clearly out of breath as he placed his hands on either of his knees and tried to catch his breath.

"Where did you come from?"

"I just ran all the way from the building that Creative is in. They want to see you on a storyline. I think they figured out a way to debut me."

As the two up-and-coming wrestlers continued talking amongst themselves, she quietly slipped away and out of the room. She barely had the chance to catch her own breath as she slouched down on an oversized chair in the lobby when she saw the second man who had spoken a few minutes ago. He slowly crept into the empty lobby, gently shutting the door as he looked around the room. She stared at him as his head rotated slowly around to look near the entrance of the building, then make its way over to her.

"There you are," he said, smiling widely. "You just disappeared."

"Mmm," she said as she stretched out her legs. "Been on my feet all day." She wiggled her toes.

"Ah," he said, taking a seat next to her on another chair. "I didn't mean to chase you down, but I wanted to know your name."

She smiled at him. "Vivian."

"Vivian," he repeated. "Pretty name. My name is J - "

"Jay," she finished for him. At the tilt of his head and furrow of his brow, she continued. "That other tall blond man told me."

"Ah," he said, folding his arms over each other. "So, Adam said you're catering? I've always loved a girl who could cook."

She couldn't help but smile at his obvious flirting. "Well, that's nice, Jay, but I'm afraid your interest with me will fall upon deaf ears."

"Huh?" he said, not completely understanding her. Be it his luck he flirt with a woman that's a lesbian. But he couldn't help the almost-stupid look on his face as she continued to smile at him.

"You're nice and all, and a cute dude, but I'm way too busy to be tangled up in a web with a man." She stood before he could say anything else. "Nice to meet you, Jay," she said, holding out her hand. He accepted the offer, shaking her hand, tempted not to let it go until she agreed to go out to dinner with him at least. But, he simply stood there after letting go of her soft, smooth hand, his mouth hanging open as he watched her disappear back into the main building.

_September 2010 - 8:52 PM - Vivian's home_

"Are we going to watch daddy, mommy?"

Vivian watched as her son looked up at her with round eyes. It had been nearly a month since Jeff had found out he was in fact a father. Jeff promptly sat the little boy down to discuss the matter.

"Yeah, Shawn, we can," she replied, doing her best to hide the tears that threatened to fall. For three weeks now, her phone had been ringing too often, and she once again had ignored the call from what she thought was her best friend. As she watched the little boy sit on the den's plush carpeting, her phone abruptly rang again. Picking it up, she stared at it for a moment, then pressed the end call button to ignore him.

What had he been thinking? Why did he do that? Why didn't he tell her sooner that he had never told Jeff? Why couldn't he admit to her then that he never meant to tell Jeff? These were all questions that Vivian wanted answers so desperately to. But she supposed none of it mattered anymore. Once more, she ignored another one of his calls, letting it go straight to voice mail. She was sure her inbox was full by now. Sighing, she toted her phone with her into the den to begin watching RAW with her son.

_RAW event - 10:45_

"God, why doesn't she just answer me!"

Christian called her again, only for the call to go directly to her voice mail. He knew she was ignoring him, and he couldn't deny she had every right to do so. Running a hand through his short blond hair, he tossed his phone down on the chair beside him. He knew he had done this to himself. He knew he should have been honest with her years ago. He couldn't help the rotten feeling he felt so deep down in his guts over the simple fact that he could possibly lose her as a friend. It just wasn't imaginable to him for her to not be by his side.

The locker room door opening and shutting with a thud broke his concentration.

"How many times have you called her tonight? Ten, twenty times?"

Christian could have burned a hole right through the man that taunted him. "I know she's watching the show. I'd figure she'd at least answer during the show."

"Give it up, Jay. Anyway, you'll be happy to know that Jeff is leaving again."

"Leaving? You mean back to TNA?"

"Yeah. Heard it earlier. He'll be back there by the new years."

"Great," Christian grumbled. "He'll be able to spend time with her."

"As they should. You know, I don't know what you don't get about it, but they're married. It's not you and her. It's him and her."

Tired of Edge's emotional prodding, Christian stood, squaring his shoulders. "You know, I'm not sure if you ever really cared about Amy, and I'm not sure if you ever really loved either of your ex-wives, but if you did, you'd understand where I'm coming from. Even if you didn't, you'd at least try to be a friend to me." He backed away, turning his attention to his ring gear.

"Jay, I do care about you. You've been my best friend for twenty years now. And as a friend, I'm telling you that you're only setting yourself up for pain. I don't know what's going through her mind, but I know what's going through yours. If you'd just listen to me, you'd cut this crap with Viv and move on with your life. Don't you think if she had any feelings for you, she would have done something with you?"

"How do you know we didn't do anything?" he asked Edge, a blank look on his face.

"Oh," Edge began to chuckle. "Oh-ho. No, I know you. You would have told me. You wouldn't have been able to contain yourself if you finally got a piece of the tail that you've been chasing for years. Do you really think you can fool me?"

Christian looked down into his duffel bag. "You must think I'm pathetic then, don't you? You got Amy, and I can't get who I want." He quickly zipped up the bag, pulling the strap over his shoulder. "Well, I'm glad you lived up your life to the best of your abilities. Not all of us has someone who was that easy."

Before anything else could be said, he swiftly headed for the door.

"Jay, come on." Edge's words landed on the door closing behind Christian.


	6. Chapter 6

_3 weeks later - Vivian's home_

"No, no, he's adapted well. I was a little nervous he wouldn't, but he seems fine."

Jeff tried to listen to the voice on the other end of the phone, but he couldn't quite hear her. All he knew was it was Vivian's sister.

"Well, get back to whatever you were doing. I'm glad you called. Okay, bye." She pressed the end call button on her phone and laid it down on the kitchen island she was sitting at. A deep sigh escaped her as Jeff spoke behind her.

"How's your sister doing?" he asked, clasping his hands together.

"She's fine."

"Did she know?"

Vivian looked up from the counter top. "Know that I - "

"That you lied to me," he finished.

Giving him a sneer side look, she answered him. "Yeah, she knew. She's my sister though, so of course she'd help me out."

"I fail to see how what you did helped anyone out."

She lowered her head again. "I'm not saying what I did was right, Jeff, but if you thought that I didn't want to see you again, you wouldn't bother with me either."

"I'd want some answers. Some reasons why. And you should have known better than to just think I wouldn't want you anymore."

"You left! What else was I supposed to do?"

He closed in on her. "Be my wife and stay with me regardless of what you thought." He brushed his lips past hers, sending shivers down her spine. "Marry me again."

"What?"

"Let's renew our vows, start this over, and be the family we should be." Slipping his arms around her waist, he held her tightly to him. "And make us grow."

"You want more kids?"

With a nod of his head, he bit on his bottom lip. "What do you say?"

With a big smile on her face, she nodded her head. "Yes, sweetie. Yes, yes," she agreed as he grabbed her up for a hug. "Oh, gosh, I love you, Jeff. I never stopped. Not for one day."

He sighed as he hugged her tighter in his arms.

_October 2010 – 11:52 PM – Vivian's home_

"Where's Shawn?" Jeff asked Vivian as he came into the kitchen, a hand on his head in confusion.

"Do you realize what time it is?"

Groggily, he turned his squinted eyes towards the illuminated clock on the stove. "It's almost twelve," he announced.

"Yeap, and Shawn will be out of school soon."

"School," he said more to himself than to her. "That's right." He plopped on one of the kitchen island stools.

She put the last cup away that she had allowed to dry from breakfast as she turned to him. "You hungry?"

He grunted as he laid his head down on his arms folded on the counter. Mumbling something Vivian knew only she could ever understand, he waved a free hand around over his head.

"Sure thing," she said, already heading for the refrigerator. "A coke, and oven-warmed, buttery waffles."

His head lifted at the aroma of the waffles. "My God, how I've missed your waffles."

"""""

Jeff leaned against the closet door frame, watching her full figure move around on the closet floor. She pulled her biggest suitcase out from a dark corner, unzipping it.

"What are you doing?" he asked, noticing how startled she was.

"What – Why are you still here? Don't you leave today?"

He exhaled deeply, crossing the closet doorway to sit on a bench in front of the bedroom window. "Going back to TNA."

"Why?" she asked, not the least bit surprised.

"Being in both, I think I like it there more. It's a bit more creative."

"You're like a ping pong ball."

"Yeah, I know, going back and forth. But I'd rather do that a hundred times than stay somewhere I just don't feel free at."

"I guess I won't be needing this then," she said as she slid the large suitcase back into its hiding place. "Seeing how they tend to stay here."

"Yeah, we're going to be staying in Florida." He hesitated a moment as he watched her stand in an upright position. "Listen, I know you're mad at Jay, but why don't you talk to him?"

"What? Are you crazy?" she asked, her arms flying up to dismiss his suggestion. "After what he did, he's no friend of mine. And never was."

"I know why he did it."

"You talked to him?"

"No, I haven't," he said, as he rubbed his chin. "But it's quite obvious he had some very strong feelings for you."

"If he cared about me at all, he would have told you. He would have done what I asked him to."

"Yeah, but love is blind, and it overlooks truths sometimes. When you were pregnant, I'm sure there were times where he wanted Shawn to be his."

"Jay's not in love with me. He might have had a little crush on me years ago, but he's married now. So what would that even matter?"

Jeff chuckled as he stood, walking over to her and placing his hands on her shoulders. "I've never had a single discussion with him about you ever, but I could clearly see the times where he wanted you to be his." He let go of her shoulders, and sat down on the bed. "Think about it. He helped you for four or five years with Shawn. Was there every bit of the way he could."

"And never once did he think of the man who was actually Shawn's father. He made you miss out on once-in-a-lifetime things, Jeff. I'm sorry, I will not forgive and forget so easily."

"You also can't forget that he _was_ there for you, despite hiding the truth for so long."

She shook her head, the dark waves of her hair cascading to frame her face. "Why are you defending him so much? I don't get it. You should be mad at him more than I am."

"I was, believe me."

"What's the change of heart then?"

"Because," Jeff said calmly as he took her hands into his. "I can't thank him enough for making sure you had a strong shoulder to lean on. I know it must have been hard doing things yourself. And yes, I should have been there myself. He should have told me. But we can't change what has happened, sweetness."

Smiling, she looked up at him. "When did you become so insightful?"

"When I realized that you were losing more than just a friend."

The smile slowly faded as he left the room. In the past few weeks, she found herself longing for the days that she and Jay were close again.


	7. Chapter 7

_July 2000 – Jay's house_

"Jay?" Vivian gently closed the fence gate as she made her way around the side of the house. The pool water caught her eye as it glittered in the sun light. "Jay."

"In here," she finally heard his voice say. Making her way up the patio, she stepped inside of his house and into the kitchen. "Just putting dessert in the fridge."

"What'd you make?" she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"A cheesecake," he replied, a smile plastered on his face. "Fresh from the box."

A laugh escaped her as she walked over to his kitchen table and sat down. "The front door was locked."

"What? Lost your key?" he sarcastically remarked.

"Ha-ha, funny. No," she said, pressing her lips together. "I just thought it'd be open since we agreed we'd swim today."

"Well, I'm about to fire up the grill."

"Ooh, what are you planning to cook?"

"Just the typical burgers and hotdogs. You wanna make all the other stuff?"

"Yeah, sure," she said as she stood from the table and started looking at the food sitting on the counter. "I can make macaroni salad and some potato salad. And I'll make a quick fruit salad." She turned to him as she reached into a cabinet for mixing bowls. "Anyone else coming over?"

"Adam and his girl."

"Oh, nice," she said as she grabbed up the variety of fruits that were still in grocery bags.

Jay watched from the side as she looked at the bunch of bananas for longer than was needed. "Bananas offend you?"

"What's the cheesecake?"

"Plain, with some vanilla in it that I put."

"No fruit on it?"

"No, I'm not that fancy. Why?"

Without answering, she went to the fridge, pulling out the round tin. She didn't speak as she sliced two bananas and placed them perfectly on the cheesecake. "Should be delicious," she said more to herself than him, and placed the tin back into the fridge to chill.

He laughed at her, shaking his head, as he headed out toward the patio. After lighting up the grill, he came back into the kitchen only to be met with a sight that dramatically tugged at his heart. Vivian was finishing up cleaning the ears of corn, wrapping each cob with tin foil after brushing ample butter on them. She put them on a metal tray that Jay would be taking outside as she looked up and smiled at him.

"I'll make the burgers if you want," she offered.

"Work your magic," he barely got out as he cleared his throat after speaking. Even though he had a girlfriend, he couldn't help but have a feeling about her. He had tried his best to suppress the feelings he had towards Vivian over the years, but it increasingly became harder to do so. Since he purchased this house in Tampa, they were hanging out around each other more and more. The only time she wasn't around him was when she went up to North Carolina. They'd even slept over each others house. She'd even gone as far as fixing up one of her guest rooms to his liking.

But as the sinking reality of the situation came to him, he stepped back into the shadows away from her. He quickly found his vision nearly spinning. _Must be the heat,_ he thought as he headed toward the bathroom. Shutting the door, he hastily leaned over the sink and turned on the cold water. He splashed his face with the coolness and reached for the towel to dry his face.

"How could I have fallen so deeply?" His question seemed to get lost in his mind as he heard her voice.

"Jay, you okay?" He heard her fingertip lightly tap at the white door.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he called through the door. Adjusting his posture as he turned off the faucet, he placed the towel neatly back on the rack and opened the door. "I just got a little dizzy."

"Don't let yourself get sick. It's too hot for that."

"I'll get a bottle of water," he said as he pushed himself past her. "Burgers ready?"

"Yes," she stated as she resumed her position at the counter. "All seasoned up and ready to go. I put the hotdogs on the tray as well."

"They already smell awesome."

She smiled at him, wiping her hands on the kitchen towel as the door bell rang. "Oh," she said quickly. "That must be Adam. I'll get it."

He watched her walk away before grabbing up the tray of food that he was to cook on the grill. They'd only been friends for a couple of years. He never imagined they'd grow so close. At one point, he realized that he was closer to Vivian than he was to his own girlfriend. He frowned at the thought running through his mind. He knew he should feel horrible for wishing she would just forget about that Hardy. He knew he should be happy for her, and be happy that she found the guy she wanted to be with. He only wish it were him.

_November 2010 – 11:24 PM – Vivian's home_

She sighed as she looked at the clock. She only had a little over a half an hour before this day was over. A day she'd celebrated with Jay for over a decade now. Except for this one. It made her feel so empty inside knowing that they'd spent this day apart. She twiddled with the screen of her phone, flicking between each screen before finally pressing his icon. The phone began dialing his number and she breathed deeply, placing the phone up to her ear. She didn't know whether it was relief or sadness that washed over her as his machine answered.

"Hey Jay," she said quietly with another sad sigh. "I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday. I know we haven't been on the best of terms lately, and I - "

"Hey," his voice suddenly cut in after a brief beep.

"Hi. Happy birthday."

"Thanks." He was quiet for a moment then cleared his throat. "Listen, I'm glad you called. I want to tell you that I'm sorry. Things should have turned out differently."

"Jay, don't apologize. It was stupid of me to continue this for as long as I have."

"Viv, I should have told you. I should have told him that day. This is completely my fault."

"No," she said licking her lips and pressing them together. "It's not. Because I should have done a lot of things. One of them being to never had depended on someone else to do what I should have done myself." She leaned on the counter, her head in her hand.

"Yeah, but I should have been the friend to you that you thought I was. I let my feelings - " He paused, stopping himself from saying what he'd always wanted to say to her. But, of course, she caught it.

"What feelings? It wasn't supposed to run so deep, remember?" she asked, her eyes closing as she placed a hand over her forehead. She could hear him take in a deep breath, and let it out in a big sigh.

"I've loved you for years now."

"Jay, you can't. It was nine years ago."

"I know," he confessed quickly. "I know it doesn't matter now, but I'll tell you this." He was silent before continuing on with his confession. "Meeting you that day when you were still in catering, was the best day of my life. Even now. Nothing has ever surmounted to the happiness I've had with you in my life. And sometimes I just wish that we could have spent these past fourteen years together. But another part of me knows that you've found who you were happiest with."

"I'm very happy with Jeff, even through our time apart. But you're my best friend, Jay." She cursed the tears that threatened to fall. "How could I not be happy with you around? You always make my day." A small laugh burst through the tears.

"I betrayed your trust, Viv," he said solidly. "I turned on everything that built our closeness."

"I was wrong to place something so deep on you. And I should have known better." She shook her head, straightening up as she lightly slapped the marble counter top. "I know it's late. Why don't we meet up for lunch next time you're back over here?"

He chuckled. "Sounds good. I should be home Tuesday night."

"Jay," she said softly. "I didn't mean to hurt you. And I wish I would have fixed this myself. None of this would have ever happened." She looked down, tracing the marble with her finger. "I'm really glad to have you as a friend."

He nodded his head, realizing she couldn't see him. "I'll see you in a couple of days."

Quietly, she trod off to her room to bed.

_December 2010 – 9:45 AM_

"How was your lunch with Jay yesterday?" Jeff asked as he approached a stool to sit on.

"It was nice." She placed down her mug of coffee and leaned on the counter. "I wish I had seen it before."

"His attraction to you?"

"Mhm," she nodded. "I mean, I knew, because he asked me for a date that one night. But I thought it was gone, especially after so many years."

"Well, love doesn't just fade."

"True," she said as she fixed him a plate of food. He stared at it for a long moment as she placed a glass of juice in front of him as well. "Something wrong?"

"Would you have been with him?"

"What?"

"Would you have been with him?" he repeated as he looked up at her, seemingly ignoring his plate for the time being. "I mean, if we never met or if nothing happened between us, would you have?"

She stared at him, wishing his eyes to tell her of some emotion to go by. "I don't know."

"Did you ever love him? When I wasn't around?"

She remained silent, busying herself with wiping an already spotless counter top. He sighed heavily and turned his attention to his food.

"It worked then," he said in a quiet tone.

"I didn't have anyone for years, Jeff."

"Did you ever sleep with him?"

"What do you think?" she asked, her jaw setting squarely.

"I think you loved him," he told her as he stared intently at her. "And I think you would have if I wasn't going to be around anymore."

"Oh, bullshit, Jeff," she said, the frustration of it all getting the best of her.

"I'm not stupid, Vivy. I know how close you two are. Don't think I never saw it."

"Are you accusing me of messing around with Jay?"

"No, I'm saying that I know you. You would have eventually been with him, because you do love him on some level. And don't act like I'm too dumb to know."

"I don't think you're dumb, Jeff!" She slapped the towel against the counter top, and then placed her hands over her face. "Why are we fighting?" she asked through her fingers. "Why? It doesn't even matter."

"No," he said solemnly as he stood from the stool. "I guess it doesn't from someone who's never wanted to tell me the truth."

She sighed heavily as she watched him walk away. He had barely touched his food, and she almost hastily took the plate, sweeping the excess food into the bowl she used for dog scraps.


	8. Chapter 8

_February 2011 8:49 PM_

She sat at the patio table. The sun was already setting, giving the beach an extraordinary glow. She was waiting for the show to end, which Vivian and Shawn couldn't attend due to him being sick. Poor kid, he really wanted to go. He hated missing anything his father did, and she had to admit even though she and Jeff hadn't been on good terms for a few months now, he really did step up as a father. Sighing, she looked out to the lapping waters. It all seemed so simple to the average mind. Go back to her husband, have a family, and live happily ever after.

But it wasn't so simple. It was more complicated than she ever thought. And she knew it would be. She also believed that she was up for that challenge, but seeing as to how things have been working out lately, she was rethinking everything. In her heart, she wanted it to work out so bad that she was willing to completely overlook the situation as it was. But she was realizing just how much things had fallen apart over the years between herself and Jeff, and she wasn't sure that they had enough patching to fix it up.

Tonight though, she decided, that she would tell Jeff what she hid from everyone. Only two people knew of this secret, and those two people were the ones involved. Yes, she'd tell him and then let him decide from there where he would like it to go. Because if she were being completely honest with herself, it really was up to him. She already knew where she stood. Jeff, however, was teetering on the fence of his feelings. She knew that a part of him wanted to make it work with her, but she also knew of the part of him that didn't even want to bother. He figured she walked out on him and hidden something so tremendous. He missed out on irreplaceable moments with his son.

Her moment of truth came though, as he opened the front door. She could see clear into the kitchen as he tossed his bag onto the floor. The paint from the show was washed off his face, but she could see remnants of it tracing down his wife beater. He peeled off the leather jacket he wore and tossed it over the back of a kitchen chair. She watched him grab a drink from the fridge and then make his way to the patio to sit with her.

"Shawn doing okay?" he asked as he popped open the tab of the can.

"His fever is down. He wanted to go to bed early tonight."

"Didn't watch the show?"

She shook her head, then took a deep breath as she crossed her arms under her chest. "Jeff," she started out, not willing to look him in the eyes. "There's something I want to tell you."

_January 2001 – 11:14 PM – Jay's house_

She giggled as she straightened herself up on the couch. "Already a day into the new year. Goodness, what a mess we've made."

Jay took a look around at all the candy wrappers strewn about his living room ottoman. "Colorful mess." His face reddened a bit as he strained to sit upright. "I am so stuffed, if you took a pin and poked me, I'd probably pop."

"Yeah, I'd like to see that happen," she joked as she leaned over the table, gathering up their plates and all the candy papers. "You want something else to drink?"

He barely heard her question as he stared at her body. He loved her in all the ways he knew he never should. It felt so wrong to him to even consider her that way, especially now that he was going to become a married man. But all he wanted to know that every time they were in each others presence, it felt so right. He couldn't help but wonder that if he had just made a move on her, if she would have steered herself to him instead.

"Uhh, no. No, I'm good. Couldn't put another thing into my body if I tried."

Vivian didn't even bother washing dishes right now, simply dumping the dishes off to the side of the sink, then made her way back to sit next to Jay. "What's on TV? Still more New Years shows?"

"That night time parade thing, but it goes off at midnight." He handed her the remote as she tucked her legs underneath her. "What was in that stuffing?"

"I put some of the chicken in it. Little pieces of it."

"Oh man, that was so good. I could eat that every day."

"There's enough of it in there. You might as well eat it every day." She relentlessly flicked through the television channels, a smile swimming across her face as it landed on what she wanted to watch.

"More Christmas specials? Really? You should be so tired of them right now."

"But I love them! I only get to see them all once a year."

"And you know every one by heart. Lookatcha, you don't even have to watch them anymore." He sighed and smiled as she tossed the remote onto the ottoman and leaned against him. His arm thoughtlessly curving itself around her waist. By the time the special was over, it was nearly one. Despite Vivian wanting to watch the show, she had dozed off. Not wanting to wake her up, Jay slowly removed himself from the couch and gently placed her sleeping frame to the cushion. The flick of the television as he turned it off woke her up.

"What time is it?" she asked as she braced herself with her arm.

"Almost one. Want me to help you to your room?"

Wearily, she nodded and took his hand as he guided her through the house. He steadied her as she laid down on the bed in the room that she always slept in when she stayed over. As he turned to leave, she held out a hand to him.

"Wait," she said as she scooted up to one side of the bed. "Stay with me tonight. I know you guys have to leave out tomorrow."

Without hesitation, he agreed. "Okay." She pulled back the comforter for him, and he slid underneath to lay next to her. She quickly warmed up to him, laying her head on his chest.

"Did you have a fun New Years?"

"Best one yet," he confirmed, his fingers stroking her hair. He could feel her nodding off to sleep again, and he knew he just had to do this. "Viv, do you like me?"

"Of course I do," she said softly. "I wouldn't even be in your house if I didn't. Why ask that?"

He used his finger tips to pull her face up to look at him. "There are so many days where I wish you were mine."

"Jay, don't do this, okay? I'm tired. You're tired. We're both tired." She lifted herself from his body, sitting up in the bed. "Sweetie," she sighed. "I care about you. I always will. But we both agreed that it wouldn't go any further than that, and you know why."

Before she could say another word, his lips connected with hers. In her mind, she wanted to fight him, but her body ultimately won as she relaxed and slid back down into the bed as Jay shifted over her. His hands roamed down the sides of her plump body, as hers locked in fistfuls of his hair. She gasped as she felt his fingers brush against the inside of her smooth thighs.

"Jay," she breathed out as she felt him remove the shorts she slept in, along with her panties that were under them. He broke away from her lips to completely undress her. She pulled his white T-shirt over his head, balling it up to throw it over the side of the bed. The second his jeans landed somewhere on the floor, she pulled him right back into a kiss.

She knew he was right as far as their love for each other went. There was something in her that also wished they could be more. But she pushed that notion out of her mind as soon as she learned that Jay was still with his high school sweetheart. She knew then they could never be anything more. And with her blossoming friendship with someone else, she never thought anything more of it.

But with Jay currently making her senses go crazy for him, she pushed everything out of her thoughts but him. His head lowered down, disappearing under the comforter, and she felt him nip at her sensitive folds. She tried her best to control her wriggling legs as he continued to nibble. The sensations nearly sending her into a frenzy, until he suddenly stopped as he came back up. She kissed him, loving the taste of herself on his lips. He slowly prodded at her opening, easing himself into her. She gasped, throwing her head back as he gently began to rock within her.

Placing her legs around his waist, he took the liberty to close his mouth over her perky nipples. Her breathing became increasingly more labored as he pulled away from her, watching her ample bosom bounce with each thrust, the tanned perks on each of them glistening. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him back down to her body, their chests pressed against each other as his thrusts gathered more and more speed. He buried his face into her neck as he listened to her, never believing that she would ever be his, even for one night.

"Oh Jay."

"Say you love me."

"Jay," she said, her hands moving to bring his face to hers. "Jay, I love you."

He groaned, once more putting his head down and wildly nibbling the side of her neck. She squeezed her thighs around him as she reached her breaking point. He released himself deep into her as his head landed on her chest, their sweat mixing together. She gently scratched his head, locking her ankles around his waist, not wanting to let this moment disappear.


	9. Chapter 9

_February 2011 - 8:55 PM_

Jeff sat there a few moments as she finished telling him, his mind racing at unimaginable speeds.

"You fucked Jay?"

"It was before we were together. We were only talking."

"So I didn't matter to you from the start? Is that what you're fucking telling me?"

"No! Jeff, come on." She placed her face in her palms. "This is why I didn't want to tell you. Now, you're just going to believe that I never cared for you. It was before we even really knew each other."

"Before we knew each other – Viv, we were talking. We _were_ getting to know each other. Is that why we couldn't be together for that year? Because you wanted to bash your fucking brains out against his headboard?"

"Oh shut up, Jeff. It was before we were even together."

"Yeah, you keep saying that like it matters."

"It does matter."

"What if you had gotten pregnant? Hmm? Had his kid? Then what? We would have never happened?"

"I don't know," she said quietly as she stirred around the straw in her drink.

"What was that?" he asked, perking an ear towards her.

"I don't know," she repeated more sternly as she looked straight at him. "I didn't plan it to happen. It just did. I thought we were going to go to bed. You all had an early flight that morning."

"You went to bed alright." Without giving her another glance, he stood from the table, leaving her to soak in her past.

"""""

_March 2011 - 4:32 PM – Cameron, North Carolina_

"I never thought she would do anything like that to me, Matt. I mean, from the start, she had my heart. It was a first sight love for me, and ten fucking years later, she tells me that she sleeps with one of our friends."

"Do you think if she were with you at that point she would have done it?"

"Man, I don't even know what to think."

"Well," Matt started off slowly. "I think Vivian loves you. And I think that if she knew the hurt that would come between the two of you, she would redo everything." Matt sat the can of beer he held in his hand down on the kitchen island.

"You think?" Jeff asked, hoping that whatever answer Matt gave, it would ease the pain turning inside of him.

"Yeah, bro, believe me. She never meant to hurt you. She always wanted to tell you about Shawn. Since the day she knew she was pregnant."

"Yeah," Jeff agreed as he rubbed his chin. "Wait, what?"

"What what?" Matt asked as his lips puckered out.

"How did you know that? When did you know she was pregnant?"

Matt cleared his throat as he stammered a bit. "I, uhh, knew when she was almost - "

"You knew?! I can't believe this! You even knew, and you didn't tell me? Was she sleeping with you too?"

"Hey, hey man, that's not cool, bro."

"But come on, Matt. You freaking knew. Why didn't you tell me?"

He sighed deeply. "I'm sorry for not telling you, but she already thought you wanted nothing to do with her."

"You should have known better, Matt! I told you exactly what I felt when she walked away from me. How could you do that to me? Did she ask you not to tell?"

"No. No, she never asked me. And I didn't know about anything really until after the fact."

Jeff slouched back in the chair. "I feel like I've been living a complete lie, man."

"It wasn't all a lie. She loves you. Anyone can see that." Matt joined his brother at the kitchen table to talk more.

"""""

_March 2011 – 11:37 PM – Vivian's house_

"Why don't I just come over? I don't leave until later tonight," she heard him say from the speaker phone as she grabbed a bottle of water and went back over to the kitchen island.

"It's not a good idea."

"Something happen?"

She hesitated before sighing. "I told him, Jay."

He was silent before realizing what she meant. "Why?"

"Why? Because I can't keep hiding shit from him, Jay. What do you mean why?" she incredulously asked him, her eyes widening.

"I know, I know, but you know it will just make him more upset."

"He's been staying with Matt since last month. Hadn't really spoken to me since I told him." She placed the phone down on the counter top as she slapped a hand over her forehead.

"Has he seen Shawn?"

"Two days ago. He told me he was going to take Shawn up to Matt's for spring break next week."

"Oh," he said quietly. "I could come over then."

"Jay, I don't think that would be a good idea."

"What would be a good idea then, Viv? I mean, you tell him something that you agreed that very night we wouldn't tell anyone, and now because he's pissed off, I'm pushed out of the picture? I didn't tell Denise. How fair is it to her that - "

"Fair to her?" she cut in before he could even get out the thought. "Oh, Jay, I think you missed that boat before you even married her. You knew exactly what you were doing, and you knew before it even happened that you weren't going to be faithful to her. At least I wasn't with Jeff at the time."

"No, you just agreed to be with him because I was married," he said too quickly for his own liking. Exhaling, he confessed something to her as well. "Doesn't matter anyway. We're getting a divorce."

"What? Why? Was it because of me?"

"No, no. It wasn't you. Denise and I have been in a downward spiral for a while now. She doesn't know anything happened between us and that's how I plan to keep it. She doesn't need to know. It wouldn't change anything."

"I'm sorry, Jay."

"Don't be." He sighed deeply. "Look, I've got to go train for a bit. I'll call you later tonight."

"Okay, bye," she agreed softly, looking at her phone as it returned to its home screen. How could she possibly be in love with two men? Was that even possible? She looked at the wedding ring Jeff given her years ago, turning it subconsciously from side to side. Her attention was distracted by the sound of the back door sliding open.

"Who was that?"

She looked up at Jeff, sighing deeply, not wanting to tell him the answer.

He looked down at his hands as he sat on a stool across from her. "Is still talking to him really worth destroying us?"

"What happened to you thinking I was losing more than a friend?" she asked, looking sharply at him.

"That was before I knew you laid down and spread your legs to him," he answered quickly.

She pressed her lips tightly together as she closed her eyes. The last thing she'd ever wanted was Jeff thinking she laid down with every man. "This is why I didn't want to tell you." Couldn't he see that it wasn't like what he was thinking?

"I would have never hidden anything from you for so long."

"Jay is my best friend."

"And do you know what I did with my best friend?" he asked as he went around the side of the island, coming within just an inch or so of her face. "I married her."

Vivian couldn't help the flow of tears that slowly came down from her eyes. Jeff grabbed her up in a tight hug, gently rocking her back and forth until her crying subsided. She lifted her head from his now tear-soaked shoulder. "I never meant to hurt you, Jeff."

He lifted her face up to him with the tips of his fingers. "Are we going to work this out?"

Slowly, she nodded. "Yes."


	10. Chapter 10

_May 2011 – 5:30 PM – Jay's house_

"Are you staying for dinner at least?" he asked her from the couch he perched upon. He watched her, his hands clasped tightly together. She stood with her back to the kitchen counter, a glass of red wine in hand, and he kept a constant eye on her every move as she sighed deeply. He showed her a few hours ago that Denise did indeed move out, and the makings of their permanent separation was in effect.

"You know I have to be home soon. Jeff comes back with Shawn."

"You told me they won't be back until tomorrow."

"They'll be back tomorrow morning," she said taking a sip from the glass and setting it down on the counter top. "I have to clean the house."

"That won't take you much time. You're the fastest person I know when it comes to cleaning."

"What, Jay? What is it? Why do you want to keep me here?" She approached the couch across from him and leaned on the back.

"What, now that Jeff has you playing wife again, you can't stay here anymore?"

"I _am _his wife, Jay. I have a son to raise and household to keep together. What do you want me to do?"

He nearly jumped up off the couch, the mere thought of Jeff angering him now. "I want you to stop fucking pretending that I don't mean shit to you. I'm going through something here, and I'd like some friendly support. I thought Jeff would release his grip on you for just a slight second for that."

"Jeff doesn't have a grip on me," she said, turning to follow him back into the kitchen.

"Seems like he does. He tells you to jump, and you ask how goddamn high. When did you become like that? You were never like that."

"Since I wanted to keep my marriage together." She watched his head dip as he tried to busy himself with random items on the counter. She grabbed up her wine glass, taking a generous sip. "Sometimes, I hate it that you know me so well."

"What? That I know there's a part of you that wants to tell Jeff to fuck off? That as long as he's taking care of Shawn now, you have no actual use for him yourself?"

"That's not what - "

"Then what? Because you've been sneaking around, behind his back for weeks now. I know he told you not to talk to me again. Why else would you even have to wait until he's gone back to Matt's to come over?"

She all but slammed the wine glass down on the granite counter top. "You know what? You're absolutely fucking right. Absolutely right, Jay, and you know why I'm even risking that? Is because I thought you were a friend to me. And regardless of anything going on in _my_ life, I was trying my best to lend a shoulder to you. But you're so wrapped up in what _could_ have fucking been, that you don't even see that."

Grabbing her hoodie and slinging it over her forearm, she headed for the front door, Jay tailing right behind her.

"Wait a minute. Viv!" he said, as he closed the door a moment after she'd opened it. "I'm sorry." His hand remained near the top of the door as he bowed his head, taking deep breaths. "I'm sorry," he repeated. "But you know how I feel about you."

She looked at him, trying her best to make sense of the thoughts that were churning through his head. She knew him better than anyone, even his soon-to-be ex-wife. She hated that even during all her years with Jeff, she found him attractive. It was this attraction that created their friendship for each other. It wasn't anything strange to them to be touchy and close to each other, and after all these years, everyone had gotten used to it. Everyone but Jeff. But she'd given him a reason to no longer trust Jay around her.

"Will you please stay the night?" He looked up at her, his forehead wrinkling as his eyebrows shot up with anticipation. "Hmm?"

She thought for a moment, her head slowly nodding. "Okay, fine. I will stay." She pointed a finger in his face. "But I want you to wake me up early. I need to be at the airport to get Shawn by eight o'clock."

"Will do. Now, can we eat dinner now?"

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye as she stood up to go into the kitchen and fix their plates.

"""""

Vivian couldn't sleep that night. She occasionally nodded off for five or ten minute fits, and the broken sleep was even worse than not sleeping at all. Truth was, every time she'd close her eyes, she'd imagine Christian on top of her, in between her most private area. She imagined him ever so sweetly making love to her, just like she knew he would. Laying on her back, she placed her hands over her face, closing her eyes tightly. She felt like she wanted to scream.

And just like he knew, Christian was right on cue as she heard the door open. She saw him poke his head through the small space, then he slid into the room.

"Your phone was in the kitchen," he said, seeing she wasn't sleeping. "I heard it rattling on the counter." He approached her bedside to hand her the phone.

"Thanks," she said, checking it. It was a text from Jeff. She replied, then set the phone down on the night stand.

"You couldn't sleep either?" he asked, stopping at the foot of the bed.

She shook her head. "Can't stop thinking for a minute to sleep."

"What, uh, whatcha thinking about?"

Looking up him sharply, a smirk bringing the corner of her lips up. "If you must know, I keep thinking about our night together." She waited for him to go around the other side of the bed and lay down on top of the comforter. "I can't get it out of my mind. I have no idea why."

"I was so good," he joked, a smile crinkling the corners of his eyes as he looked at her.

"Jay..." She turned to her side to face him. "Remember Seattle? The needle point building?"

"Yeah... Best twenty-five dollar burger I ever had."

A little laughter escaped her. "I remember you refused for me to pay for my own food."

He loved the wide smile on her face as he looked down at her. "Nah, you don't pay for your own dinner as long as I'm around. That wouldn't have been polite at all."

"You've always been so sweet to me, Jay," she said, her eyes closing slightly. "So very sweet."

He watched her drift off to sleep, then slid down into the bed more. Even though he stayed on top of the comforter that covered her, he still loved being so close to her. He lifted his hand so his fingers could softly trace the side of her face. He loved the last vision of his night being her soft, curvy frame sleeping next to him.

"""""

With a slight startle, she woke up the next morning. Checking her phone for the time, she noted she had a little under an hour before she had to pick up her son from the airport. Groaning, she turned over, seeing Jay had slept along side with her. Throwing the warm comforter off her, she went into the bathroom with a change of clothes. Emerging from the bathroom a few minutes later, teeth brushed and her hair twisted up into a loose bun, she saw that Christian was also now awake.

"Morning," he said with a little smile on his face.

"I think you getting a little to used to me staying over."

"After ten years, you think so?" He heard the small laugh come from her mouth, then she disappeared out of the bedroom. Sighing, his smile faded as he heavily laid his head back into the pillow. After a few minutes, he heard her phone go off. Reaching over the side of the bed she slept in, he looked at it. It was a message from Denise.

_Viv, I really need some intelligent thoughts right now. Can we talk?_

He pressed the button on the top to lock the phone again and collapsed face first into the bed. It didn't help that the bed was soaked in Vivian's scent. And it didn't help any more that his ex was texting the woman that he was in love with.

"""""

_May 2011 – 10:46 AM – Vivian's house_

"Viv, what are you doing?"

"I'm reading a book," she replied quickly as she looked up at him.

"I was calling you for something."

"What?"

"Doesn't matter now. Where's your phone at?"

She looked around the office, before stopping her gaze at the desk. Poking her lips out, she replied. "I don't even know. I had it yesterday."

"Well find it. Do you need anything from the store?"

She shook her head, slightly taken back by his abrupt attitude. He'd never been that way to her. "Something wrong?"

He stopped in his tracks on the way out of the room. "No."

She waited to hear the front door close before she swung her legs over the edge of the couch she was laying on. Taking the house phone from the desk, she dialed a number.

"Jay? Did I leave my phone there?"

"Yeah, on the night stand. I put it up in the kitchen. It's been going off like crazy."

"Mmm," she absently said, wondering why Jeff even bothered trying to contact her on her cell phone when he was in the same house. "Bring it to the end of your driveway."

He agreed, and she placed the phone back into the charging cradle. Quickly, she scurried to change into some jean shorts and a tank top to get her phone.

"You have a message from Denise," Jay told her as she approached him at the end of his driveway.

"Really? Denise?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Something about she needed to talk to you." He crossed his arms after handing her the phone, looking on as she checked it.

"I wonder what about. You didn't tell her anything, did you?"

"No," he shook his head. "Not a thing. She's always liked you. It's not strange."

"Oh God, I feel so bad."

"Why?"

"Because I feel like I've taken you from her all these years."

"Don't be ridiculous, Viv. We've somehow managed to just stay friends after me and Denise were married." He licked his lips and bowed his head. "Would you have?"

"Would I have what?" she asked after a moment, tucking her phone into her pocket. He only raised his eyebrows at her. "Jay, I honestly don't know. You two ask me that like it's an easy answer." She silenced herself as she saw Jeff's car come up into the driveway. Looking at Christian sideways, she thanked him for her phone and made her way back to her front door.


	11. Chapter 11

"Is that what you do the minute I turn my back?" Jeff asked Vivian as he set down the grocery bags.

"He gave me back my phone."

"You left your phone there?" he asked her, and she silently cursed herself. "How long did you spend over there? The whole time I had Shawn?"

"I just spent a few hours there."

"Overnight," he stated. "I know you, Viv. You left it on his nightstand, didn't you?"

"I never stay in his room," she truthfully told him. "I'm sorry, Jeff. But we had dinner together and he asked me to stay over."

"Sorry? You've been sorry a lot lately."

"It's not a big deal."

"It is a big deal, Viv! When you're going around, behind my back, when I _know_ you're in love with him. It makes a big goddamn deal between us!"

Vivian squared her jaw as she glanced over at Shawn, who was in the den watching television. She was glad that he wasn't paying them a bit of mind as he unwrapped some candy he bought at the store. Jeff noticed her making sure he wasn't looking at them.

"He wants to spend time with Matt for a week or so next month for the summer."

She continued to unload grocery bags. "That's fine. I'll pack him a suitcase."

"It will give us some time together alone."

She nearly froze in her tracks. Shawn would be with Matt, and Jay would be back on the road. To anyone else, a week alone with her husband would have sounded fantastic. But she knew with how he was acting and how they always seemed to be constantly arguing, it would be anything but good. She looked at his muscular tattooed arms as he leaned on the counter.

"Sounds nice," she quietly said, avoiding looking at him.

"You don't sound too excited," he stated as he scratched his head.

She smiled at him, hoping that he wouldn't sense that it was fake. "I am excited. We need some time alone. We've hardly had any time alone since we were married."

She looked down at the bottle of juice her hand was around, genuinely smiling at the thought of their wedding. Neither one of them particularly cared about having a traditional wedding ceremony. Jeff let her have the small, intimate wedding she wanted. Simple and quaint was what they had. Back at a time where their feelings were strong for each other. By how he now looked at her, their feelings were changing somehow. His stare felt cold and lifeless, and she saw him fold his arms across his chest, seemingly waiting for her to say something to challenge him.

"I'll start on lunch," was the only thing she could manage to say under the intensity of his glare.

"""""

She was surprised when later that night, she received a call from Jay.

"She what?"

"Yeah, she called me into her office earlier tonight. Said that you two have not spent a day together since her youngest was born."

"Yeah, about a week or so. Gosh, she's such a beautiful baby. They should know me better than they do. You know, I didn't even realize that keeping myself from Jeff meant I kept myself away from most everyone else."

"What? I was the only one you kept in contact with?" he chuckled.

"Pretty much," she grinned. "Anyway, I have to go. Tell her to stop by on her next day off."

"Thursday it would be. She said she'd give you a call after the show tonight."

"Awesome. I need some girl time with her. Can't freakin' wait."

At that moment, Jeff walked into the bedroom, Vivian's shoulders squaring the second she saw him. He was casually going back and forth between the closet and his dresser drawers.

"Give me a call later, okay?" she said quietly, keeping her eyes steadily on Jeff.

"Who was that?" he asked her, noticing the slight smile on her face as she placed her phone down onto the bed.

She looked up at him and smiled. "Stephanie," she lied. "She's kind of upset that we haven't spent any time together."

"You going to visit her while I take Shawn to Matt's? I can always stay there."

"Only if you want to. I don't see her staying but a few hours. You know how busy she is." Just then her phone vibrated. It was a text message from Stephanie, and she read that Stephanie would be calling her in a few minutes. If she didn't find a way to leave the room without alarming Jeff, she was almost afraid of how he would react to her lying about just talking to her. Then he'd know she had actually talked to Christian.

"Is Shawn in bed?"

"Has been for about twenty minutes." He looked up at her, as he roughly folded clothes. "Viv, it's almost eleven."

"Is it? I didn't even notice."

He tilted his head to one side as he spoke. "You okay? You've been kind of jumpy all day."

"I'm fine," she said, forcing herself to lay back into the pillows propped up on her bed. The very moment she believed she _could_ relax, her phone went off, and she nearly jumped out of her skin the way it pierced through the thick air between herself and the man she called her husband. With his eyes on her every move, she dragged her finger tip along the screen to answer the call.

"Hello?"

"Oh my dear, it's really you," she heard Stephanie's voice say. Unfortunately, Jeff heard her too.

"Hey, Steph," she replied, trying her best not to sound nervous or shaky.

"We have too much time to make up for and not enough time to do. I'm so glad Jay called you for me. Where have you been?"

"Still in Florida," she said, hoping Jeff would just walk out and shut the door behind him so she could fall into a normal routine phone call with her dearest friend Stephanie McMahon-Levesque.

"How's Shawn? I haven't seen him since he was about one."

"Oh, he's good," she said, a wide smile across her face. "How are the girls?"

"Growing all day, every day. You know, sometimes I think it's a curse me and Paul are both tall."

"I can't imagine how tall they are now," Vivian laughed as she ran a hand through her hair. It wasn't unknown to her that Jeff was slowly inching his way closer to her.

"Oh, very," she said, but cut herself short. "Listen, the show isn't over yet. I just had to call. Let me call you back tomorrow, so we can arrange a day for me and the girls to come over."

"Sounds good. I can't wait, Steph."

"This will be so great. Okay, I'll see you then. Love you, girl."

"Love you, Steph. Bye." She felt herself struggling at the end. She didn't want Stephanie to hang up. She didn't want that connection to go away. And the moment the call ended, she knew he had her.


	12. Chapter 12

He didn't even have to say anything. There were no sounds of disappointment. No sounds of anger. A black hole could have been made in the vacuum of silence in the room after the first hit landed across her face. She was almost confused as to what was happening when a second hit to her face knocked her off the edge of the bed and onto the floor. Placing an arm under her to support herself, she sat up on the carpet next to the marble top nightstand. She could barely register the two hits before he roughly grabbed her arm and yanked her back onto the bed.

"Jeff, please, don't," she said wearily as he tossed her to the middle of the bed.

"Don't? You ask me not to do something, yet all you do is lie and sneak behind my back. You have that motherfucker call you every day? Every fucking day, Viv? You didn't talk to me for six fucking years!"

She parted her lips to speak, but she was quickly silenced with another backhand. He threw all his weight on her, holding her hands together above her head.

"I never – _never_ – wanted it to be like this, Viv. I'm not the type of person to lay my hands, in anger, on someone that I love. But you have driven me into your fucking madness. Into all your fucking drama." Letting go of her hands, he rolled off and sat beside her, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. Opening the one eye she could, she looked at him, seeing that his hands were rubbing over his face. "I'm staying with Shawn when we go up to Matt's."

His voice was so low that she barely heard him. Picking up the bag he'd been packing for their trip, he left the room. Left her to sit in the dense atmosphere that he created. She wanted so bad to pick up her phone again, to dial Stephanie's number and tell her not to come. But that wouldn't do any good. Either way, Stephanie would know something was wrong. She knew Vivian too well. Back in the day, they'd always be around each other for their jobs, and the two steadily became friends.

Worry came over her as she half-blindly went into the bathroom. She wished the mirror told lies as she looked at her already swelling face. With the second heavy hand to her face, Jeff had caught near half of her left eye. And her cheek below it had a strawberry red marking on it. Slowly she touched it with her hand, finding it to be swollen. The left side of her face had his hand print, from the initial slap, glowing red in her skin. Turning to get a wash cloth from the bathroom cabinet, she dampened it with cool water.

She tried so hard to stop the tears that threatened to fall as she gently wiped blood from her split lip. How could three hits from him be this bad? She never thought that a friendship with someone would make Jeff do this. At she rinse the rag, the pinkish water swirling down the drain, she noted the sharp pain in her wrist. She didn't even know she fell on it at all when Jeff's second hit sent her sprawling to the floor. Before she could stop herself, her knees gave out and she hit the floor, thankful that the soft bathroom rug cushioned her fall a bit.

"""""

_June 2011 – 1:27 PM – Vivian's home_

With Shawn with his father gone for a couple of weeks, and with a very long-awaited visit from one of her best friends, Vivian looked at herself in the mirror. She dreaded that morning when she kissed her son goodbye before he left for his summer trip, hating the way he just stared at the cuts and bruises. Of course, he hadn't known his father was the reason behind the anger that was lashed out onto her face. She stood there for a moment, remembering the way Jeff sounded so cold as he spoke to her. His words to her sounded so lifeless. It was so hard for her to even imagine him being this way to her.

Sighing, she didn't even bother with covering up her healing wounds with makeup. Stephanie would just have to see the marks. She never hid anything from Stephanie anyway. Having a husband in the industry herself, Stephanie had understood exactly what she felt some five years ago. She really didn't have to explain herself, but she knew she'd have to explain why there were patches of bold bruising all over her face. Before leaving the bathroom, she let her hair down from the towel it was drying in, and then headed to the kitchen to finish preparing the lunch she had planned for them.

The doorbell rang just as she was taking the tray of macaroni and cheese out of the oven. All the pain and worry was left in the trail of her footsteps as she excitedly went to open the door.

"""""

"Oh dear God," were Stephanie's first words. "Viv, what happened?" She watched her close friend's face flip into a sad frown, her hair cascading to one side as she looked up at her. Vivian still looked as beautiful as ever to her, and she carefully pushed Vivian's hair behind her ear as she examined the bruising. "Vivy... "

"It's not as bad as it looks," she finally said, shutting the door after she let Stephanie step in.

"Not as bad? Some spots look darker than black. What happened?"

She lead Stephanie into the kitchen, getting her a glass and a drink as she began explaining. During telling Stephanie every detail of what's been going on, they each fixed themselves a plate of food to eat. And when she was finished, she stood behind the counter, across from the stool Stephanie perched upon. She couldn't help but notice the slight anger in her friend's face.

"Why would he get so angry over you and Jay? Anyone can see that you two are just two peas sitting in a pod."

Vivian quietly took in a forkful of food as she nodded her head. Simply because of their agreement, she hadn't told Stephanie the bit about sleeping with Christian. But Stephanie noticed that she was a little too quiet for a little too long.

"There's something else to it, isn't there? I mean, I saw Jeff all those years backstage. He looked damn near lost without you. Then all of a sudden, he has you back and he does this to you?" She held her glass of wine up to her lips, willing her to reveal what she knew Vivian was hiding.

One look into Stephanie's eyes, and she already knew she didn't have to even say it.

"It was one time," Vivian stated firmly. "One time. Nearly ten years ago."

"Before he was married?"

"A few months before." She watched as Stephanie licked the sour juice from the lemon she squeezed into a tall glass of ice water from her fingers. She knew the next question, a smirk twitching at the corner of her mouth.

"Would you do it again?"

"Oh, come on, Steph!" Tossing down the paper towel she was relentlessly balling up in her fist, she leaned both elbows on the counter.

"Oh, I knew it! I should have told you from the start to be with him." She watched Vivian's eyes soften at the thought. "You love him, don't you?" she asked, her own eyes softening as she took a sip of water from the straw.

"I do. I've always loved him. He's my best friend. And Jeff just can't understand that. To Jeff, the simple fact that I love my friend means I can't have them both."

"Yeah," she said, reaching her fork over to a pasta bowl. "But, with you and Jay, it's not just love. Because me and you... " She ping-ponged her fork back and forth between them. "We love each other. You're my best girl. But it's not like that with Jay for you."

Vivian groaned, knowing Stephanie was right. "Okay, okay, this is just getting too deep for me right now. Why don't we take some drinks into the den and relax a bit?"

"Sounds good," Stephanie agreed as she popped a piece of biscuit into her mouth.


	13. Chapter 13

Before they knew it, they both were laid out on the oversized, plush sectional, with snacks and a few bottles of wine coolers surrounding them. Vivian couldn't remember the last time she had this much fun and laughter.

"Oh, and remember when you told off Randy? I promise you, mom still laughs at that to this day."

Laughter burst from her as she recalled the moment. "Well, I was absolutely shocked, you know. I couldn't believe just how arrogant he had to be to sit there, not paying any mind to anyone at the table."

"He's gotten much better," Stephanie confirmed. "He did have quite a bit of an attitude. That's one of the reasons why Paul wanted to take him under his wing so much." She let out a giggle, a hand rubbing her chin as she pondered. "What was it that you said to him? Mom seems to remember it word for word."

"Something like we weren't being paid to sit there and I was actually there on my own - "

"On your own time and dime," Stephanie squeezed in with a laugh.

"Yeah, and that he could either sit there - "

"And shut his goddamn mouth."

"Or he could just whistle his entrance music every time he - "

"Watussied his ass on down the ramp!" Stephanie completed along with her. She stifled her laughter long enough to take a sip of her drink. "You know, Paul is still tickled that you called him babyface."

A heartfelt laugh came from Vivian as she placed her drink down. "I couldn't believe someone would just wistfully waste someone's time like that. I was there on a business call, but I also wasn't there so he could waste my time. Like, you're going to waste _my _time? Really? It wasn't my entrance music." She looked into the bag of gummy bears she'd opened. "I kind of miss catering though. I never would have imagined it would bring me into that world with you."

Stephanie thoughtfully tapped a manicured fingernail on her glass. "Why don't you cater for us?"

"You, and Paul, and Vince?"

"No, no," she said waving her hand. "For the WWE. There's so many new people who need to eat your cooking at least once before they die."

"That would be nice," she exhaled. "But what about Shawn? You know Jeff couldn't watch him all the time."

"You both can come. You can start immediately. And when school time arrives again, we can put him into the same school the girls are in."

Vivian watched as Stephanie's eyes silently pleaded with her to agree. "I'd love to, Steph, but I can't just walk out on him again."

She scooted closer, taking Vivian's hand in hers. "You don't need to stay here if he continues to abuse you. I don't know what's going on in his mind, but whatever it is, it's not a good reason at all to hurt you like that." She looked down at her watch, not wanting to let go of Vivian's hand. "I hate this to end," she said softly. "I need to get back to work though. Tomorrow will be so busy with the pay-per-view coming up."

"That's what, two days from now?"

"Mhm," she nodded her head. "Would you and Shawn like tickets?"

"Of course. That would be nice."

Stephanie stood, straightening out the knee-length black skirt she wore. She hugged Vivian tightly, really not wanting to let go of her. She admired how strong Vivian had been throughout the years, and always loved that strength along with how witty and intelligent Vivian was. "Call me?"

"I'll call you pay-per-view morning."

Smiling, she turned to walk to the door. "I'll see myself out. Love you, girl."

Vivian placed her hands on her hips as she watched her friend close the door behind her. "What a mess we made," she sighed to herself as she began cleaning up.

"""""

As Jay pulled up into his driveway, he was happy to note that only Vivian's car was in the driveway to her house. He parked and turned off his car, pulling out an envelope that contained the two tickets Stephanie had asked him to give to Vivian that previous night. The pay-per-view was tomorrow, and considering it was taking place so close to Tampa, Jay thought it would only be fitting if he asked Vivian if they'd like to ride to the arena with him. He remembered Vivian telling him something about Shawn spending the last two weeks with Jeff and his uncle Matt, and he was hoping the little boy was already back and in-time for the event.

Sprinting up to her door, he knocked, waiting for her to open the door. And when she did, his jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

"Viv, what happened?" he asked quickly stepping in and shutting the door. He all but forgot about the white envelope containing their passes and tickets.

"It's nothing," she said. "It's all healed. All better."

"All better my Canadian ass! Who did this?"

She lowered her head, almost ashamed to admit any truth to him about it. Instead she gladly busied herself with taking the envelope from his hand. "Backstage passes too?"

If she hadn't been waving the plastic cards in the air, he would have been completely confused as to what she was talking about. He couldn't take his eyes off the bruising that was fading into a purple-yellow. "Why did he do that to you?" His eyes continued to dart all over her face, not failing to noticed the marking where it appeared her upper lip had been busted open near the corner of her mouth.

His lips tightened in anger, but before he could come down hard on her and try to get any more answers out of her, he heard Shawn's voice.

"Uncle Jay!"

"Hey, Sport!" He picked Shawn up, swinging him onto his hip. "How was your vacation?"

"It was awesome! I went fishing and I drove a golf cart!"

"Oh, yeah? I bet that was cool." The little boy nodded his head as Jay sat him down on a kitchen island stool. "Would you like to go on another trip?"

"Where?" he asked, scrunching his nose.

"To an awesome wrestling event tomorrow night. I'll be wrestling."

"Mommy, can we go?" he asked, turning to look at his mom, his eyes pleading for her to agree.

"I don't know, Shawn," she said, sucking her teeth. "Your room is pretty messy right now. I'm not sure we'll be able to clean it all up in time... "

He practically jumped down off the stool, as he excitedly talked. "I'll clean everything, mom!"

Jay watched him run off down the hallway and disappear into his room, then he looked sharply at Vivian.

"Don't start, Jay."

"He's beating the shit out of you now? Was Shawn here while he did this?"

"He is not beating me," she sighed, placing a can of soda in front of him.

"Well, excuse me. Slapping you around a bit should be a normal, every day routine then? What did he hit you over? What could have possibly made him so angered that he'd touch you in vain?" He shook his head from side to side, unable to fathom what was going through her mind. "Why are you even still here? Why would you think that was okay?"

"It was over you!" she shouted at him, slapping an open hand on the cool marble counter top. "When you called me to tell me that you talked to Steph, I lied and said that you were Steph." Running a hand through her hair, tousling it around, she continued. "Only, she sent me a text soon after we hung up, saying that she'd call me sooner than she thought. I couldn't leave the room. He knew I was talking to you that first time and made it a fucking point to keep his fucking feet planted into the carpet."

"He's hitting you over talking to me now? Viv, how far is this going to go before you stop it?"

"Stop it... What the fuck do you want me to do? He's finally got his son now. I can't take that away from him after all the years of him not having Shawn."

"Don't let Jeff use him as a pawn. There are plenty of things that can be done so he's able to see his son. I don't want to hear that," he said, waving his hand in dismissal towards her. Walking to the fridge, he switched out the can of soda for a bottle of water, and cracked the top of it.

Vivian sighed. "Steph offered me to cater for WWE."

"Exclusive? Did you take it?"

"I told her it would be nice. I could hear it, Jay. I could hear it in the tone of her voice. Her begging me to take the job offer." She chuckled softly. "She really looks out for me."

"You're like a sister to her. She cares a lot for you. There's a certain pep in her step when she's around you."

She was quiet as she thought of Stephanie's words to her about Jay. It was unfortunate that Stephanie was probably right. Especially now, she seemed to be more at ease being with Jay than she did Jeff. Slowly, she parted her lips to speak. "She said that... she knew we loved each other. Said that she should have told me to stick with you."

"Really?" he questioned, his eyebrows raised up.

"Hmm, even at that time, I guess she saw how we were around each other."

Jay set down his water and leaned his elbows on the counter top. His brows furrowing, he asked her, "Would you have?"

"What? Stuck with you?" A grunt from him confirmed the question. "Maybe. To be honest Jay, when I first met you, I really didn't want to be in a relationship. Really, I didn't. I don't know what about Jeff made it all change. It's like I met him, and my world flipped around with him. It was like a controlled chaos. I never knew what I would do with him from day to day. At the time, he was unpredictable and exciting. Now," she sighed deeply. "Now, I just want stability."

"Do you think he can provide that for you?"

"I know he can. The question is, will he?"


	14. Chapter 14

Much to his delight, Vivian agreed to have her and Shawn share the car ride to the venue for the pay-per-view. Vivian didn't miss the glimpses and looks he was giving her during the trip there.

"Say it, Jay," she said when the exit off the interstate was in view.

"What?" he said as he looked in the review mirror and turned on the blinker.

"That I've had more fun in this car ride with you and Shawn than I've had with him in a long time."

"Do you really need me to tell you that?" he asked in a solemn voice, and tried his best to ignore the glare she shot at him that wanted to burn right through his flesh.

When they arrived at the massive building, Jay maneuvered his way into the underground parking where all the WWE talent were supposed to park. He opened her door quickly before taking a very excited Shawn out of his booster seat. He clung onto Jay as he was carried into the entrance way, his mother following closely behind.

"Hey, Viv!" Stephanie's voice came from a doorway.

"Hey, Steph," she said, giving her friend a hug.

"And this must be Shawn," she commented, taking the boy from Jay's arm. "I'm Stephanie, a very good friend of your mom's."

"Oh, that means I have to call you aunt," Shawn said very matter-of-fact. "Like Uncle Jay."

"Haha, okay, Aunt Steph will have to do." Nestling Shawn on her hip, she turned slightly to point to a room down a corridor that branched off. "Paul and the kids are in that room with the gold star on it. Make yourselves at home. I still have a bit of running around to do. Jay," she said, acknowledging his presence, then she placed Shawn on his feet and took off.

Vivian took Shawn's hand, while Jay took the other, and they walked down the long corridor and to the door that Stephanie directed them. Opening the door, her eyes immediately landed on the two girls, and tears welled up along her lash line. Paul stood, greeting them.

"Hey you," he said to Vivian as they hugged. But she clearly was taken back by how big his girls were. He shook Jay's hand as Vivian pushed past him. "Girls, say hello to your Aunt Viv."

"Hi," the oldest one, Aurora, shyly said. The youngest just stared at her.

"You girls are so big. I remember when you were newborns," she said, lifting the oldest off the floor and hugging her to her hip.

"I'm not a baby anymore," she exclaimed.

"No," she laughed out. "No, you're not." Kneeling, Aurora still on her hip, she lowered herself to the youngest girl, Murphy, and gave her a smile. "Hey pretty girl. You don't remember me at all, do you?" She laughed as Murphy shook her head.

"I'm going to go work out a bit before I have to get ready for the show," Jay said to her after a moment. He waited for Vivian to stand up again before passing her the bag full of snacks, drinks, and toys.

"We'll be in our seats for your match if I don't see you before then."

"Okay," he said, hugging her. He then turned to Paul to shake his hand again before disappearing out of the door. Paul looked down at Shawn, giving a slight grin.

"So," Paul slowly said as he sat back down on the black leather couch. "Are you and him... you know?"

"No," she said in a short tone, watching as Shawn pulled out a toy from the bag she dropped into the corner of the couch and joined Murphy to play on the floor.

"Well, I'm just curious, you know. You and him have been extremely close for a long time, and - "

"Paul," he heard her voice warn as he looked up at her. He always thought Vivian's eyes were so expressive, and today was no different.

"Well, you know," he continued, a smirk crossing his face. "The man loves you very much..."

"Paul," she said again, drawing his name out longer this time. She heard him clear his throat as she paid her attentions to Aurora, who sat in her lap and was touching her aunt's ears and face.

His face straightened out, a stern look replacing the lighthearted one. "Steph told me," he said in a low, solid tone. "And I don't like it one bit. Then I see the scars on your face, and the fact that you tried to downplay it - "

"I didn't downplay it, Paul. Really, it wasn't that bad."

"He hit you. Period. It was bad, regardless of what he did or didn't leave on your face." His stern eyes met her soft ones, and his heart immediately went out to her. He'd seen Vivian to be a little sister ever since she and his wife became best of friends. He took a deep breath before he continued. "If I find out – from anyone – that he hits you again, I'm coming for him."

"Don't, Paul. I don't want you risking your career and your family for him."

"You _are_ family, and _I_ don't want you hurting."

A knock at the door interrupted their deep conversation. It was Shane who poked his head in the door way.

"Dad wants you to help him out with something," he said to Paul, and was about to leave before his eyes quickly landed on her. "Vivian! How are you doing?"

"I'm doing good," she said as they hugged. "How are you?"

"Good, good. Just got a few things to fix before the show." He paused to look closer at the fading bruising on her face. "You come with Jay?" At her nod, he said, "Good. If I hear that Hardy does that to you again, I'll put him away."

"Shane, I'm fine."

He looked at his brother-in-law before hugging Vivian tightly and leaving out the room. Paul stood to follow him to wherever Vince was.

"You okay here with the kids?"

"Oh yeah," she assured. "I'm fine. You go ahead."

"""""

The show was already underway when Vivian and Shawn made it to their seats. She really only planned on watching Christian's match, which from what he told her was the fourth match. She stood and cheered with Shawn as his music blasted throughout the arena. His match seemed to go on for much longer than she expected, especially when she just wanted to get backstage again, to his locker room, and make sure he was alright have such an intensive ladder match. The very moment he reached up while standing on the second to the last step on the ladder, and his fingertips so gingerly pulled that title off the hook, she grabbed up Shawn and waited for Christian to roll out of the ring.

He laid on the apron for what seemed like ages before both his legs finally dropped and his feet touched the floor. He was breathing heavily as he began walking up the ramp again, stopping in front of Vivian and Shawn. She held out her hand to him and he gently took it, giving it a soft squeeze, then he slung the Intercontinental title over his shoulder and disappeared beyond the stage. The people surrounding her continued to clap and cheer loudly as she heard the ring announcer begin to state the upcoming match. Tucking Shawn's head to her chest, she ducked the crowd as best as she could and made her way back to the locker rooms.

"Great match," she heard the grating voice of Adam say. She knew he was in one of the last matches of the night for the WWE title. After patting Christian on the back, Adam's eyes darted to her figure. He leaned into Christian, saying something that she couldn't hear. But Christian quickly responded to him, confirming whatever Adam had asked him, then made his way to where Vivian stood at an empty wall.

"Come with me," he said, waving the white towel at her. She set Shawn on his feet, taking his hand as they followed him down a few hallways to his dressing room. "You like the show?"

"Yeah, it was fun!" Shawn said as he plopped down on a small sofa.

She sat down next to her son, watching as Jay unlaced his boots. "Your match was fantastic. I had a good time."

"Want to go out to eat tonight? My treat," he said as he opened his gear bag and pulled out clean clothes. "Just let me get showered and changed, and we'll have a run of the town tonight."

"Okay," she agreed, nodding her head and smiling. The smile melted from her face as she watched him disappear into the bathroom. All the years she stayed backstage with Jeff, he never really offered to do that. He never really offered to go out. They'd always just go back to the hotel, or if they were close enough, they'd immediately go home. She sighed, not even wanting to think about it, because the more she did, the more she believed that Jeff didn't _want_ to spend time with her.


	15. Chapter 15

_June 2011 – 6:14 AM_

A car door shutting rattled her out of sleep. Lightly, she threw the sheet she slept under off of her and went towards her bedroom window, looking to see who was in her driveway. Her sleep-filled eyes landed on Jeff as he made his way to the front door. Before she could open her bedroom door, he had already made his way into the house and down the hallway to her room. He froze as he saw her standing in the doorway.

"Morning, babe," he said with a smile. Her eyes narrowed as she watched him head toward the closet and get a new shirt to put on.

"I thought you were staying until Tuesday at Matt's."

"I was going to, but there's a show, and I came back down. Left his house late last night."

"Oh," she said in a defeated manner. Truth was, she didn't want to face Jeff. Not after he knew that she was with Christian for the pay-per-view. She realized though, he was studying her movements as she climbed back into the bed. Clearly, there was something on his mind.

"Shawn up yet? I wanted to take us all out for breakfast."

She shook her head. "Still sleeping." She kept her eyes on him as he sat something down in the bathroom, then made his way to the bed to lay beside her.

Slowly, he stretched out, placing his arms behind his head. "Did you have a good time at the pay-per-view?" he asked her.

"We enjoyed it. It was fun."

"You go backstage?"

"Yeah. I saw Steph and Paul's girls for the first time in long time," she said, a happiness warming her heart at the thought of the girls.

"That's nice. They're doing okay?"

"Yeah, they're doing good. They grew so much since the last time I saw them."

"I bet," he said, a smile on his face, but it quickly faded before he licked his lips. Vivian could have sworn she saw rage in his eyes. "But tell me something... Why couldn't you tell me that you wanted to go out on a date with Jay? I mean, a date with a man while my son was around."

"It was not a date, Jeff."

"Yeah, it was a date," he said stubbornly.

"It was Steph who invited me. He had a match anyway. Don't talk crazy."

"Oh, she's trying to set you up with him now? Is that it? She sees your face, assumes I beat the life out of you, and now she's wanting you to ride off into the sunset with someone else?"

"Don't talk crazy, Jeff," she repeated as she swung her legs off the edge of the bed.

"No, I'm not talking crazy. Come back here," he said quickly as he grabbed her arm firmly and pulled her back down onto the bed. "I am your husband, Vivian. You're with me. Not with Jay. Not with anyone else."

"You're hurting me!" she cried out, realizing he had her arm bent into her body and smashed into the mattress. "Jeff, let go!"

He let go of her arm, only to pull her to the middle of the bed and firmly place his body on top of hers. "You haven't even been back up to North Carolina with me, Viv. Why do you keep going out with Jay?"

"I didn't go out with him! Get off!"

"You did!" His bark was vicious as he wedged a knee between her thighs. "Is this what he did to you, Viv? Ten fucking years ago when you laid down and spread yourself for him?" She yelped out as he grabbed a fistful of her hair and violently yanked her head. "Huh!"

"Jeff, no!" She tried her best to grip his arm and pull it from out of her hair. But he was too strong for her. The sobs began to choke her as she pleaded to him. "Jeff, stop!"

She could barely blink before a flash of his hand came down on her face. It nearly blinded her vision, and she tried to blink away the stars she saw. But again, his hand came down on her face, and then she felt a vice-like grip on her throat. Gasping, she couldn't seem to understand that Jeff was on top of her, choking her.

"You think it's so great being with Jay all the time? I leave, you see him. I come home, and you fucking tip-toe around me."

Her fingernails scratched at him. "Stop! Jeff!"

"I'm going to tell you this one last time, Viv. Do _not_ hang out around him!" He nearly spat his words out to her. She didn't care if he spit in her face, as long as released the grip around her throat. When he did, she sucked in air like it was the last thing she could ever do. He jumped off her, disappearing out of the room as she turned to her side, coughing. For a solitary moment, she felt anger towards Jeff. She'd never stopped him from hanging around any of his friends. With them being separated for nearly seven years, she was sure he had been with another girl. She was certain of it, even if he wanted to maintain his word of being faithful to her during that time.

The unbearable pounding in her head didn't start until she sat up on the bed. Crippling pain still hung around her neck, and she didn't even want to see what he'd done to her face again. She stumbled out of the bed, having to hold on to the bed post at the foot of the bed. Why was she letting him do this to her? She couldn't even stand up straight by herself right now, and she knew that if she let go of the post, she'd crumble to the floor like she didn't have any bones. And that seemed fitting, didn't it... She didn't have a backbone anymore. Not when it came to Jeff. She was disgusted at herself at the mere thought of letting anyone run their feet all over her. She was always strong-minded and strong-willed. What was happening to her?

She nearly did jump out of her skin as she heard his voice from the door way.

"Your phone has been going off. Denise is trying to call you."

"""""

He watched her slowly stand upright, still clinging to the bed post for support. Even though he was still angered at the thought of her spending more and more time with Jay, he felt bad for treating her this way. At that moment, she seemed so broken down, and that was never how she was. She was someone who spoke her mind and who never backed down, regardless of the majority being against her word. He'd seen her backstage around his co-workers. When everyone else seemed to say the same mindless dribble, she had stood out to him. She seemed almost magical in the way she spoke her mind, yet still managed to keep everyone's respect. He couldn't think of one person that she didn't get along with.

And that's when he felt like kicking his own ass. There was one person she wasn't getting along with, and that was him.

"You want me to call her for you?"

"No, I'll go get the phone myself," she said, looking down.

"Will you fight me over trying to help you?"

"Fight you?" she asked, snapping her head up at him. "I can barely move!"

His stomach twisted into a knot. "I'm sorry, Vivy."

"No, you were sorry the first time. Now, you're just being an asshole about this whole thing."

And into a tighter knot. Still, he reached for her arm, thankful when she allowed him to lead her into the bathroom. "What proof do I have that you and Jay didn't do anything after we married? I mean, you have to know that's all that's been going through my mind."

"And that's why I didn't want to tell you. Not because I was hiding it from you. But because it didn't fucking matter." Her words became softer as she took a wet wash cloth and gently wiped her face off. There wasn't any blood this time, but the red mark that conquered her cheek, she was sure it would become black and blue. Not to mention, the red fingerprint marks around her neck.

"I know that it doesn't matter now."

She turned sharply to him. "Then why are you acting like it does?"

"Because," he said as he began slowly pacing the bathroom floor. "I know that when sex between friends happen, it always gets deeper. From at least one of you."

"And that one isn't me. I took it for what it was worth."

"But Jay didn't. He was in love with you before it happened, and he's in love with you now."

"I didn't think he was in love with me after. He might have had a crush on me - "

"Didn't he tell you? Didn't you see any hint?"

"Jeff, it wasn't so easy. He's been my best friend for years now. We're close, regardless of what happened. We do a lot of things together that to anyone else would make them think we were something more." She turned back to face the mirror, leaning over the sink. There was a dull pain in her shoulder, no doubt from him pulling on her arm. "But we weren't. And I wish you'd go back to thinking that."

"Why? So you _can_ mess with him behind my back now?"

"No, because before you knew we slept together, _that_ wasn't even in your mind."

"It's always going to be in my mind now!"

"Well, then," she said quietly. "Maybe we shouldn't be together."


	16. Chapter 16

She made her way into the peaceful secluded area of the stretch of beach behind her house. After dinner, she quickly left the house, not even caring to wash the dishes. So many thoughts were racking through her mind, one of which was selling the house she loved so very much. If it meant that Jeff had one less thing to hold over her head, she'd find another home to love. She pushed those thoughts out of her mind as she settled down against some rocks and pulled out her phone.

"_Hello?_" she heard the blonde answer over the speaker phone.

"Hey, Denise."

"_Oh thank you. Sorry I didn't call you right after I sent you that text a few weeks back. I had to fly back to Germany for my parents._"

"It's okay. You alright?"

"_Yeah, yeah,_" Denise sighed, and Vivian could hear pots and pans rattling in the background. "_I've just had so many things going on. Sometimes, I don't know what to do with myself._"

Vivian chuckled. "I hear you on that one."

"_So how are you? How's Shawn?_"

"We're both good. He'll be starting school next month. First grade."

"_Oh wow, how exciting. Jay told me that you and Jeff had gotten back together._"

"Yeah, he's with Jeff right now. Playing video games or something."

"_Whatever boys do,_" she laughed. "_Listen, I just want to tell you that... _" Her words faded into silence, and Vivian's heart raced at the thought of what she could possibly know. She hadn't been the woman's best of friends all these years, not like she had been with Stephanie, and certainly not like she'd been with the woman's very own husband. "_That me and Jay are over, but I still care for him. I still love him. I feel sad that it just didn't work out._"

"I'm sorry, Denise," she said softly, feeling a twang of guilt.

"_Don't be. Things happen. But I wanted to tell you that I won't be back in Florida. I'm moving back to Germany to be with my parents. I just didn't want to up and leave without at least calling you and telling you that I have appreciated the friendship we've shared over the past years. You're like a sister to me._"

Vivian silently winced, those words piercing a hole into her soul. In one sense, they were like sisters. They both had successful wrestlers as husbands. They both knew what it was like to be alone on those days they didn't travel along with them. In fact, on many of _those _days, she and Denise had gone out and spent the day laughing and keeping their minds off missing their husbands. She remained quiet now though, in fear that the woman would pick up the fact that Vivian and her husband both contained a secret from her.

"_Thank you for being so kind to me during those years,_" Denise continued.

"You're welcome, girl, and thank you." She hoped Denise wouldn't even pick up that she had spaced off. Denise whispered a goodbye, and Vivian could tell she was trying not to cry. Did she know and just hadn't said anything? Did she know and just figured there was no point in hating Vivian for it? She _was_ the one who had Jay these past ten years. It's not like Vivian really stole him from her. They both reassured her that their marriage falling apart was not because of her. Well, at least Jay did. She didn't hear that confirmation from Denise herself.

Sighing, with a very heavy heart, she headed back towards her house. Surely Jeff would be asking her where she wondered off to. She really didn't want to deal with him right now. And the more Stephanie's words to her ran through her mind, meshing along side Paul's and Shane's, she was starting to wonder if she should begin working with them again. Slowly padding back to her backyard, she made up her mind that if things with Jeff didn't improve, she'd have to begin her life over again. Her and Shawn start fresh, with a job and a new home. It seemed so nice. So believable, until she thought of the little boy who had grown so close to his father

"""""

"Where'd you go?"

She stopped in her tracks on her way to her bathroom, and turned around to look at him. Shawn was sitting beside him. No way he'd start anything with his six year old son right next to him.

"Out on that strip of beach. I called Denise back."

"She okay?"

"Yeah," she said, sighing and then making her way into the den. "She's going back to Germany with her parents."

"Ah," he said as he nodded his head up. "I'll make sure Shawn gets into bed. You go rest."

Feeling unsure of his being nice to her, especially after earlier, she nodded and quietly tip-toed her way to her bedroom. Stripping, she locked herself into the bathroom and started a nice warm shower.

After washing herself free of any sandy grits, she found herself steadily slouching down to the slick shower floor. She couldn't for the life of her understand what was going through Jeff's mind. She could sit there all night, trying to find his state of mind. Every hit he laid on her, every pull, every cold word... They were all running through her mind. She almost felt sick at the thought of her relationship falling apart. But at the same time, she couldn't help but think of Jay in a way that scared her. She'd always loved him, but was Stephanie really right? Should she have gone with him instead of Jeff?

"""""

As she finished with her shower, Jeff had already made sure Shawn was in bed. He then quickly made his way into the master bedroom after pulling his son's door to. He had to talk to her. He could almost feel her slipping away from him. Slipping away and right into the arms of a guy who was supposed to be his friend all of these years. He had to make it clear to Vivian that she belonged to him, and only him. When she opened the bathroom door, wrapping the towel tightly around her chest, he couldn't tell if it was fear or shock on her face when she saw him.

"Shawn asleep?" she asked, lightly stepping her way to the closet. A strange sinking feeling unsettled her stomach as she heard his rumbling voice answer. She quickly dressing in sleeping attire and made her way to the bed. This time last year, she would have loved nothing more than to share a bed with him again. Seeing the way he looked at her now – almost like he hated her – and the terrible way he acted now, she was second-guessing them. She was second-guessing her life-long commitment to him.

"What are you doing standing there for?" his sharp words broke her train of thought.

"N-Nothing." She hated herself for almost jumping at the sound of his voice. Was she really scared of Jeff?

"Get into bed," he said, his words a bit softer as he patted the comforter next to him.

She willed her feet to carry her over to the bed. She didn't want to go. Didn't want to lay next to him. Not anymore. Exhaling deeply, she bowed her head and heavily walked over the bed, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I think I want to sell the house," she said quietly.

He didn't speak for a few minutes, and she almost thought he didn't hear her. Until he let out a deep breath, and she saw him rub his face out of the corner of her eye. "Why? I thought you loved this house. We did everything in this house together."

"I know, and I do. I do love this house. But I think it's time for me to move on."

"Move on? From what? Where you gonna go?"

"Steph offered me to cater again for the WWE," she said as she turned to sit with her back against her pillow. "I think I'm going to take her up on that offer."

"You going to take Shawn?"

"Of course. Steph will probably get a tour bus for me, or I'll travel with her."

"And with Jay."

Vivian sighed and rolled her eyes. "He'll be doing shows, Jeff. Jesus Christ, I don't live for that man."

"No?" he asked, looking at her with fire in his eyes. "I think you will be pretty soon. Don't think I don't notice what's going on. I know what you're going to do."

"And what is that, Jeff?" she asked, getting angry at his assumptions. "Tell me. Because I would like to know."

"Oh, you'd like to know?" he mocked, his eyebrows shooting up.

"Yes, I would like to fucking know."

"You're finding your way out of us. Trying your very best not to even try. And thanks to Steph, you now have that chance."

"Find my way out of us? Is there even an us? Any day we could spend together, you run up to Matt's."

"Now you're blaming Matt," he chuckled. "Unbelievable, Vivian."

She watched him stand from the bed and begin pacing around. "I am not blaming him. I'm not blaming anyone."

"Then what _are_ you doing, Viv? You want to come back and put all this on my shoulders, and now you're wanting to just walk away?"

"Walk away from what, Jeff? What do we have?"

"So now we're nothing." He couldn't help the grin that grew on his face. "We're absolutely nothing to you. So what do we do now? Since our eleven years together meant absolutely nothing to you."

"I didn't say that... "

"No," he said abruptly. "Tell me. What do we do?" He stood at the foot of the bed, one hand to his chin, rubbing his facial hair.

"Don't fucking play with me, Jeff." She got up from the bed. "You want to be a smart ass, fine. But don't fucking bother me about it. If you know so fucking much about the situation, then you know what's coming up next, don't you?" She hadn't even realized he was walking up next to her as she walked toward the bedroom window. She felt his strong hand grip her hair and pull her into him.

"Yeah, I know the situation. I think you want to spread your fucking legs to him again. And the only way you won't feel guilty about it is if I'm out of the picture. _That's_ what I fucking know."

"Jeff, let go!" she screamed out as he pulled on her hair. Even though her back was pressed against his chest, his grip didn't relent.

"Say that I'm right, Viv. Say it!" He pulled her head back. "I know I'm fucking right. Just admit it to me. Admit it that you want to kick me out of your life."

Her hand flew up to his, trying to loosen his hold into her hair. She felt him push her down, his hand still gripping into her scalp. Her vision blurred as she felt the edge of the windowsill clip the side of her eye, and then it blackened. She regained her sight for a few seconds as she felt him moving her around, and saw a pool of deep redness on the carpet next to her, seeing the red trail along down the wall when her vision blackened again.


	17. Chapter 17

_**A/N:** The very last scene I described in the previous chapter was basically me describing what I remember from a childhood accident. I fell from a cart in a toy store, and I blacked out immediately when I hit the floor, and I remember waking up for a brief moment and seeing a huge pool of blood on the floor along with a few other smaller pools of it. I blacked out again, and the next time I woke up, I was in the hospital with some lady doctor stitching up my lip. She had to put me to sleep again in order to finish stitching up my lip._

"What the fuck did you do to her, man! I mean, I know you fucking hate her talking to other people, but this is going too fucking far! Do you know you could have fucking killed her?!"

"I know, Jay! I know. I fucked up. Big time, okay? I get it. I didn't know she'd hit the window so hard."

Her eyes opened slightly at Jeff's shaky voice.

"You didn't know?" Jay questioned, his eyebrows raising in disbelief. "You didn't fucking know that if you slammed her head into the fucking wall, you'd knock her out?"

"I didn't slam her head."

"Didn't slam it?" She saw Jay move away from the door frame he was leaning on, and come toward her with a finger pointing at her. "You don't get that much of an injury by anything lighter than a fucking face plant into the wall."

"You don't have to point at me like I have a tag on my toe," she groaned out as she attempted to sit up. "Help me. I feel like I'm sinking into this damn thing."

They both rushed to either side of her, gently pulling her up. Jay reached for the bed's control and pressed the button that made the headboard go up. "You feel better?" he asked as he softly dropped the control back onto her bed.

"I was feeling fine before you two started arguing." She let out a slight moan before she placed her hand on the tightly wrapped head bandages. "This is wrapped way too tightly. It's giving me a headache."

"Trust me, you'd rather have a headache now than to have that start bleeding again," Jay commented as he sat in the chair that was next to her bed. "They couldn't seem to stop the bleeding for a while. Couldn't even run tests."

"What happened?" she asked, her hand on her chest as she tried to clear her dry throat.

Jay passed her the cup of ice water that was on the bedside table tray. "Your head was hit on a windowsill, you passed out, had some blood loss, and now you're here." He managed to smile at her, which made her laugh. But that joyous noise was quickly cut short as she once again grabbed her throbbing head.

"Ugh, please, don't make me laugh. I feel like I have a hangover."

"I'm sorry, Vivy," Jeff said from across the room. He stood at the room window, staring out into the highway. "I'll grant you the house in the divorce. You can do whatever you want with it." He turned to look at her. "Just promise me one thing... That you won't take Shawn away from me. That little boy is the best thing that ever happened to me, and if he's the only thing I ever get from you again, I don't want to lose him." Quickly, he walked past where she lay in the bed and where Jay sat in his chair, opening the door. With one last look, he shoved his hands in his pockets and let the door shut loudly behind him.

"He did this?" she questioned quietly. Jay only nodded his head. "Wow."

"Kind of sad his jealousy took him this far."

She scoffed at the idea of him acting so terrible to her. "It's sad that I stood there and let him do it." She started to recall the moments before she blacked out. "I should have just turned around and bopped him one. Why I didn't, I'll never know." She shook her head a bit as a few tears rolled down her eyes.

"I know you love him," he said to her, swallowing heavily at the idea that she'd still want to be with him after this. "You didn't think he'd ever do this. It's not your fault."

"Where's Shawn?" she asked quickly.

"With Steph. She came down here on the jet with the girls. Left Paul to fend for himself."

Vivian let out a little laugh again, and winced. "Damn it, I said don't make me laugh."

He smiled as he pulled out his phone, which he felt vibrating in his pocket. "Hello?" he quickly said before the voice on the other end started in. "Yeah, she's awake now. No, she's fine. I'm sure they'll run some tests after a bit." His words paused as he listened to the person that Vivian knew without even really hearing her. "No, she didn't eat anything."

Vivian felt so content watching the way a slight laughter crinkled the corners of his eyes. She watched the way he rubbed his hand over the goatee that was growing in on his face. "Steph?" she asked softly.

He nodded his head to her, simultaneously answering a question Stephanie asked him. "Yeah. I'm supposed to be flying in tomorrow morning. But of course I don't mind if it's not a real bother or interference with the programs."

"Tell her I want some cheesecake." she said, again in a soft voice. She giggled at the smile that plastered across his face as she heard Stephanie questioned him.

"Yeah, that's her asking for cheesecake," he chuckled. "Caramel with the chocolate drizzle." He full-on laughed at the wideness of her smile. "Okay, see you soon."

"What'd she say?" Vivian asked as she placed the Styrofoam cup back onto the bedside tray.

"That she'll be here as soon as she gets your cheesecake, and that she's rearranging my schedule so that I can take care of you."

"Oh, no," she said, waving her hand. "I don't need that, Jay. You's all don't need to overreact to it. I'm fine."

"She, uh, said she wanted to talk to you about something important."

Vivian's smile dropped from her face, thinking of things it could be. Stephanie was always the one to do exactly what she said she would do. There was rarely an exception. She tried to push those morbid thoughts out of her mind though, a smile back on her face as she looked up at Jay. "How'd you know what cheesecake I wanted?"

Her heart warmed as he leaned forward in his chair, taking her hand into his, and smiled at her.

"""""

Vivian took the most joy she'd had in the past day as she quietly ate the delicious cheesecake Stephanie brought for her, while listening to them discussing his programming. Boy, Stephanie was insistent on having someone look out for her. They sat at the small round table that was near the room's closet, papers crossing back and forth between the two.

"So, we can just say that I'm out with an injury after this," he said. "Which isn't too far from the truth."

"Ankle bothering you again?" Stephanie asked him. At the nod of his head, she looked down at one last paper and handed it to him. "Well, then, this was meant to be, wasn't it... " She pointed to the piece of paper he was skimming over. "I'm just going to need you to sign at the bottom."

"Is all of that necessary?" Both Jay and Stephanie looked over to her. "I mean, sure, he could use a little time to help his ankle heal properly, but for that long? I won't even be hurt for that long. I told you both that I was fine."

"You eat your cheesecake, missy," Jay said to her, smiling as she pouted and turned her attention to the nearly gone slice in front of her.

None of this was gone unnoticed by Stephanie, who glanced up at him for a quick second while she signed the paper below his signature, a grin on her own face. "Okay, Jay. I think that will do." She neatly tapped all the papers together by their edges on the table and placed them into the beige file folder she pulled out of the bag she had.

"Awesome," he said, and stood as she Stephanie was putting away the documents. He went over to Vivian's bed, resisting the urge to hold her hand. "I have to get goin'. Gotta pack for the mornin'. But I'll be home within two weeks. We can do whatever you want." He leaned down to kiss her cheek, and after waving goodbye to Stephanie, he left out the door.

"He totally loves you," Stephanie said after a few moments.

"What?"

"He does. All joking between you two aside, I've never seen anyone look at you like he does. Not even Jeff." She stood from the table and sat in a chair that was on the window side of the room. Vivian stared at the chair for a moment, realizing that Jeff hadn't even sat down in the chair. "Speaking of which, I'm sure Jay told you that I wanted to talk to you about something."

"He did," she confirmed as Stephanie pulled out a bag of food from the bigger bag she carried. "What is it?"

"Well," she started as she placed three containers at the side of her leg. Opening the first one which had a small pizza turnover, she took a plastic hospital knife and began cutting it in half. "I know you won't press charges on him - "

"Steph," she groaned out as she placed a pepperoni slice into her mouth.

"Just hear me out," she begged as she opened the second container in which she simply placed two forks. "I know you won't, so I'm here to make you this offer. Now, I'm only doing this because it's an idea that I've brought up to you before, and I'd never want to make it out like I'm making you decide. But, if you come cater for us again, I won't personally press charges against him."

She gave careful thought to Stephanie's words. She would _personally_ press charges against Jeff for this. She honestly didn't even know that was possible, but knowing Stephanie, she knew it _could_ be done.

Letting out a deep sigh, she agreed. "Okay. I'll work for you guys again. But not because of Jeff. I've been thinking about catering again for a while now."

"Good," Stephanie said with a big smile as she ate from the third container of salad.

"I really wish all this shit would just disappear. How did I let it get this bad?"

Stephanie shook her head, her ponytail swinging back and forth. "You can't blame this on you. You don't control what he does. He made that choice to put his hands on you."

"Yeah," she said softly. "I guess I wanted a reason to get out. Wanted one for a long time. I just didn't imagine this would be my reason."


	18. Chapter 18

_August 2011 – 2:15 PM – Jay's house_

"Thank you, Steph, so much." Vivian hugged her tightly at the opened front door. "I don't know what I ever did without you."

"No problem, girlie," she replied. "You know I love you." They pulled away from their hug, Stephanie grabbing up her bag. "And don't you worry about Shawn. He's in good hands with us."

"I know he is," she said with a smile as she leaned her head against the door frame. "Call me if he's any trouble."

Stephanie waved her hand. "Please, he'll be an angel compared to those two girls," she laughed out. "See you both in a few weeks."

Vivian and Jay stood at the door, waving as they watched the car drive away.

"Think of what you want for dinner?" he asked her as she walked away from the door so he could shut it.

She hummed into pressed lips. "I'll cook. What do you want?"

"Beef mac?"

"How'd I know you'd say that?" She walked into this kitchen and opened the pantry door. "You have the stuff, or do I have to send you out?"

"Should have everything you need." He came up to stand next to her, looking through the shelves. "No elbow macaroni, but you can use these," he said taking a big box of mini shell pasta from the top shelf. "It doesn't make a difference."

"Okay," she said, heading over to the fridge for the pack of meat. "Can you get me the sauce?"

He nodded his head and went back over to the pantry to grab two jars of her favorite sauce. He placed them on the counter next to the stove that already had a pot of water for the pasta on it and the meat cooking. He watched her for a few moments before clearing his throat.

"So, how you feel about the house being up for sale?"

She stopped what she was doing for a beat before answering. "I love that house, Jay." She placed the lid back onto the meat pot before turning around to face him. "But I think it's closing a chapter for me. Me and Jeff didn't even really share it for all those years, but as much as I love it, it would just have this stink hanging in the air. For many reasons."

"I'm going to miss you living right across the street from me," he said, a smile in his eye.

"Well, that's when you move into the house right across the street from the one I'm buying in Connecticut." She leaned on the counter as she smiled up at him.

"Oh, we jumping state ships, are we?"

"Yes we are, and you either live with me, or buy a house there."

"I think I'll opt to live with you first," he chuckled. "I honestly like living in Florida." He leaned his lower back against the kitchen island next to her.

"Oh good," she said, turning to face in the same direction that he was as she crossed her arms over her chest. "We can have a house in Florida _and_ in Connecticut."

He couldn't help but laugh at the ear-to-ear smile on her face.

"""""

He took the liberty to clean the pots and dishes from their dinner. And after sliding the large tray of the beef mac into the fridge, he made his way to the screened-in porch out back. His feet stopped as soon as he heard her voice so melodically singing along to the song she was listening to. She was laying on her back, both ear buds in, and she was thumbing something on her phone. Then another song came on, and he shifted his weight to one leg as he leaned against the wall. Through the years he had heard her sing bits of songs, and he knew she could sing. But nothing like this as his ears perked up to the hair-rising harmony that she possessed.

He stood there while she calmly and effortlessly sang the song all the way through. What boggled his mind was that she wasn't even trying. Most people trained and tried their best to sound half as good. He was enthralled by her that he didn't even notice that the gentle song was over and she had pulled one ear bud out. His eyes ran over the smooth, naturally tanned legs that were crossed at her ankles. From the lime green painted toes to the silky thighs that were half covered by the white shorts she wore. And oh God, how he knew how good those thighs were. How smooth and soft he knew those legs were...

"Jay?"

"Hmm?" he asked, shaking his head, still a bit in a daze.

"I've said your name four times. What's wrong?"

Shaking his head harder, he made his way over to the patio couch she was strewn upon. Picking up her legs to sit down and then placing them over his lap, he quietly answered her. "Nothing's wrong. Just thinking."

"About what?"

He cleared his throat, then looked over at her. He hated the way the bruises marred up the side of her face. The stitches they'd put in were removed shortly before she left the hospital that morning. Thankfully though, her eye was no longer swollen shut from where the windowsill busted it open on the side. When he first saw her laying on the bedroom floor after getting a panicked call from Jeff, he felt like his own body was lifeless. He called Stephanie shortly after the ambulance arrived to the house, and trying to explain to her why Vivian was going to the hospital in such horrible condition was hell in itself.

But here she lay, getting better every day she wasn't around Jeff. It angered him that Jeff would even hurt her like that, but it also saddened him to know that Jeff would never appreciate her beauty now. And he hoped she never went back to him. He hoped she stayed as far away as possible from him. She could find someone mutual to deal with Jeff seeing his son. He didn't want Jeff anywhere near her. Seeing her so lifeless hurt him more than he imagined.

"How could he hurt you like that?"

She took her eyes off him. "I don't know." Taking out the other ear bud, she pulled her legs off his lap and crossed them in front of her. "All I know is that I don't want to deal with that shit anymore."

He leaned back into the cushion. "I'm surprised that you didn't kick his ass," he chuckled, running a hand over the stubble on his chin. "I'm surprised I didn't kick his ass when he called me after he knocked you out."

"I'm shocked that he called _you_," she said, sitting her phone down on the cushioning between them. "You wouldn't believe the pure hatred he had for you that day. It actually started that morning."

"That morning? He woke up trying to argue with you?"

"No, he came in from driving back from Matt's for a show," she began as she scooted herself over to lean into his side. "Said he wanted to take me and Shawn to breakfast, and for a moment, I felt relief that he didn't say anything about me going to the pay-per-view."

He placed his arm around her shoulders. "But he did?"

She nodded her head. "Of course he did. Asked me why I went out on a date with you, and I told him that it wasn't a date. Then later that day, I went out to that piece of beach behind those rocky cliffs to talk to Denise, and I came back in and he wanted to start more shit."

"You talked to Denise finally?"

"Mhm, she thanked me for being her friend." Vivian held her phone in hand, fiddling with the touch screen. "I felt kind of bad talking to her."

"Why? You didn't do anything to her."

She looked up at Jay, his blue eyes piercing something new into her heart. "I think I stole you away from her. She never had a chance, did she?"

He turned his eyes off her. "No," he said solidly as he stared out into the ocean waters. "I told you I loved you from the start, and I meant it. Nothing's changed it."

"She ever want kids?" Vivian asked, still fiddling with the screen of her phone.

"Never talked about it."

"You were married for ten years and never talked about it?" At the shake of his head, she continued. "Do you want kids?" Her hazel eyes told him a tale that her words could never tell.

"I did," he said nonchalantly. "But I put that idea out of my head when you married Jeff."


	19. Chapter 19

_September 2011 – Stephanie's tour bus_

"So," she heard Stephanie's voice from the back of the bus as she changed. "What do you want for your birthday?"

Vivian laughed the question off. "I don't want anything. I have everything I need."

"Well, there must be something. A dress, a nice shirt you like... Even perhaps," she dramatically paused as she stepped out of the back room. "A ring from Jay?"

"Oh please, Steph. Both of us are coming out of a divorce to other people. I don't think either one of us want to jump on that ship again any time soon."

"Ahh," she said, a twinkle in her eye as she reached into a cabinet. "You two _are_ seeing each other."

Vivian's lips twisted into a smirk, instantly knowing that Stephanie's trick question had actually fooled her. "Don't you go telling Paul either, or else everyone will freaking know," she replied, pointing a neatly manicure finger at her. "I don't want it going all around."

Stephanie waved her words off as she sat down on the plush couch next to her. "Anyone who knows you two at all could see it any way. Even if it did take a decade."

The smile left Vivian's face as she leaned back into the couch. "He said that he wanted to have kids."

"Oh yeah? Why didn't he?" Stephanie asked, not taking her eyes off the paperwork she started on.

"I got married." Her eyes immediately looked sideways to meet Stephanie's, a smile on her face.

"Oh, Vivy, he only wanted his babies to come from you... After all these years."

She giggled at Stephanie's words, looking down into her hands. "I think I want to do it," she said softly. She caught the gentle eyes of Stephanie again.

"Really?" she asked, a smile crinkling her nose.

"You think having his baby would change anything between us?"

Stephanie turned her attention back to the paper. "If anything, it'll make you two closer than anything. If you two have remained as close as you have over the years and over what Jeff put you through, then I'd say go for it." She finished jotting more information down before looking back up to Vivian. "You always have all of our support."

"Thanks, Steph."

"Very good, now," she breathed out as she placed all the spread out papers into several folders. "Why don't we go out to do some shopping, then grab some lunch?"

"Sounds good."

"""""

_Jay's hotel room – 11:48 PM_

"It's getting late, Viv."

_"I know. I'm on my way right now. I have no idea what this driver is doing. I told Steph I'd much rather drive myself around, but she insisted."_

He heard her shuffling around after a few minutes. Somewhere in the past few weeks, he'd grown so attached to her. He felt the need to protect her and care for her. He had returned to wrestling, and his schedule seemed so hectic; He never anticipated his return would cause so much uproar. Though he knew his stay with Vivian for a few weeks meant that he had to drop the Intercontinental championship, and he'd have to fight to win back the title twice as hard.

Still, it was worth every backbreaking moment if it meant he spent his time off with her. They hadn't yet made their relationship official, hadn't even done anything sexual. But the moments they spent in the same bed together, falling asleep together, and for him to see her when he woke up... It made everything he'd ever gone through worth it all. He just longed for the day where she called herself his girlfriend, or even quite possibly, his wife. He couldn't quite understand why she was waiting for it, but he trusted her thoughts about it.

A door shutting brought his attention back to the phone call.

_"Okay, I'm on my way up."_

"Can't wait," he smiled while he waited for the call to end. It seemed like forever to him while he stood at the door, ready to open it so she wouldn't have to use the key card. A soft tap on the door signaling her arrival made his heart flutter as he opened the door for her.

"Hi," she said, biting her bottom lip.

After hugging her and letting her in, he looked outside of the door to either side. "Where's all your bags?"

Vivian had made her way to the bathroom already to strip out of the day's clothes and slip into a pair of shorts and an older Christian shirt. "Steph's bus," she said, flipping her hair out from the shirt collar. "Which apparently is now mine." She sat on the king size bed with her legs crossed.

"She gave you that tour bus? All to yourself?"

"Well," she said giving him a little smile as he shut the door and made his way back to the bed. "You know you're going to travel with me."

"Oh, am I?" He crawled up to her from the side of the bed, hovering over her, his lips brushing hers. The mere moment of their flesh touching sent shivers down his spine.

"Yes, you are." She didn't waste any more time before moving her hand to the back of his head, making their lips collide together.

"""""

This was exactly what she wanted. The two of them, at this moment, together and all the bed space in the world. Jay had slid his old wrestling T-shirt off her, exposing her bare chest for him to marvel at. She threw her head back as she felt him gently pull at her nipples with his lips, making her desire for him grow every waiting second. By the time he had kissed down to her full hips, her own fingers were working her intimate areas. He slid off the shorts and her panties, staring at the plump body before him, before stripping himself free of clothes.

She had only seen him naked before from behind on their first sexual adventure together while he slipped on some clothes. And she'd only see him naked for a brief moment now before he pulled the comforter over their bodies, making the heat between them amplify even more. She welcomed his lips to hers as she gently stroked him with her fingers, a groan rumbling deep within his chest as he looked down. Her other hand gripped his chin, bringing his face back up to hers.

"I love you, Jay," she said before letting go of him. She heard a near possessive growl from him as he plunged into her. She locked her legs around him, keeping him still for a few moments as she adjusted to him. A simple scratch at his back signaled him to start moving deep within her. She seemed to forget about all the troubles she faced in the past few months and all the troubles she would soon face while he gently rocked inside of her. Each thrust of his inside of her made her body rattle. And she couldn't help the way her body completely melted into the bed as he nibbled the sides of her neck.

"I love you so much, Viv." He gently kissed her lips, feeling her legs tighten around him, as he looked into her passion-burned eyes. "You're everything to me."

Her arms hugged around his neck, bringing his body as close to hers as humanly possible. Once again, his nibbling occurred and her legs urged him to go faster and faster, until they both reached their breaking points. She felt weightless for a minute as he spilled his seed into her. He didn't want to let her go, loving the way she held onto him so tightly as if she never wanted him to leave her side. Even after training that day, and the practice matches he'd done, he wasn't tired enough to let her go.

And then those soft hazel eyes looked up at him and he felt the fire stirring inside of him for her all over again.

"We should get some sleep," she said softly as she nibbled his ear lobe. "We have to be back on the bus early in the morning for the next city."

Words seemed to escape him as he simply nodded his head and shifted himself off her body. But he quickly pulled her into a hug as they both fell asleep.


	20. Chapter 20

_Vivian's tour bus – 8:25 AM_

She woke up to the scent of Jay right under her nose. She laid curled up next to his side, and he was laying flat on his back with a leg and an arm hanging over the bed. They had left the hotel room early in order to make it back on the road in time for Jay's meet and greet signing. And by the way they were dressed in clothes, neither one of them was awake enough to change before they fell back into bed in the back room of the bus.

The bus had come to a stop and she stood up, going to the other side of the bed, walking in the narrow space to push him over onto his side. He mumbled something, looking at her for a quick second before laying his head back down on the pillow. Going out to the living room area, she opened a blind slightly to see where they had stopped. A huge venue was almost blocked by a few other tour buses; Some of the occupants of those buses already coming out and about.

She made her way back to the bedroom, walking on her knees over to the half-sleeping Jay.

"Wake up," she said, a fingertip poking at his cheek. He mumbled something else before she slid her body over his. She lowered herself to his body and brushed her lips onto his. "Wake up, lover. You've got a signing and a show to do."

Without any warning, he flipped them over so he was on top of her. "Oh, I love it when you call me your lover," he growled at her before claiming her mouth again. He barely removed his lips from hers as he growled more words to her. "Meet me in the shower."

She grinned slightly, biting her lip as he slid off the bed and pulled his shirt over his head.

"""""

_SmackDown! taping – 9:46 PM_

Vivian sat alone while waiting for him in Stephanie's office. Jay had returned on the _SmackDown!_ brand, and she watched the monitor as he made his way down the ramp. His match was against someone that she didn't know. All she knew was that she was bored out of her mind with his matching being taped for the airing, and with Stephanie out doing business, she could only sit at the oversized desk and doodle on scraps of printing paper.

Her ears perked up though as she heard the bell calling for the end of the match, and she watched as the referee held up Jay's arm, declaring him the winner. He grabbed at his chest as he breathed heavily, letting his arm drop as the referee let go of his wrist. If she saw this in any other circumstance, she would have been worried out of her mind, but she knew it was purely for show. Besides, she believed she had put up with enough of her soon-to-be ex-husband's high-flying and dare devil antics in his matches to deal with any thing. And although Jay could hold his own in the dangerous TLC matches that the tag teams of Edge and Christian and the Hardy Boyz, along with the Dudleys, had previously done years ago, she knew that Jay was now in great shape.

She didn't like the idea of him losing his title just so he could stay with her, but he assured her that it was all right. He told her that he wanted some time off anyway to help some of his nagging injuries to heal. She stood after watching him walk back up the ramp, giving him some time to get back to the dressing room that he wasn't sharing with anyone. After making sure Stephanie's office door was shut and locked, she wound her way through the corridors of the arena, and found his door rather fast in the long hallway of dressing rooms.

When he opened the door at her knock, a white towel was neatly tucked along his waistline and he was slinging another towel over his shoulder.

"Looks like you're right on time," he grinned at her, licking his lips as he drank in the stare she had fixed on him.

"""""

He quickly showered as she stripped free of her clothes, and groaned at the sight of her luscious body coming towards him. He grabbed her up, pressing a kiss into her lips, loving it when she greedily opened herself up to him. She turned them around so she could push him against the shower wall, then lowered herself down to where her lips could meet up with his hardness. Even though the hot shower water beat down on them, he could feel nothing else as her warm, moist mouth consumed him.

It almost felt so wrong to him, but when he looked down at her, those hazel eyes stoked a fire in him that nothing else ever had. Excited him like no other. She rolled her tongue over him one last time before he took a hold of her arm and pulled her up. She willingly turned to face the wall as he positioned himself behind her, lifting her leg to place it on the shower bench that ran along the entire tiled wall. The fire in him only burned hotter hearing her moan as he entered her.

One hand of hers braced their bodies from being pressing into the wall, and her other hand was placed firmly over the hand of his that was cupping and squeezing her breast. It was so fast and furious as the water splashed over their bodies, she nearly felt like collapsing as she climaxed. She placed both palms flat on the wall as he gripped her lower hips on either side, squeezing them as he released himself inside of her. With one last moan, he laid his head at the nape of her neck, breathing heavily.

She felt him kissing down her back as he spoke. "Want to grab dinner or go back to the bus?"

"We can go back to the bus. I know there's something there I can cook." She reached for the bottle of the body wash he used and washed herself up before leaving him to dry off and dress. "Jay?"

He turned off the shower after quickly rinsing off again and went to where she stood wrapped in a towel. "What?"

"You have an extra shirt and jeans in your bag? I don't want to put these back on," she said, discarding the clothes she'd been wearing since that morning.

"Yeah," he said, drying off. "There's a few extra clothes in there." He pointed to where his bag was just a few feet away from her. He watched her slid her own panties back on, but reach into his bag, pulling out a pair of old worn jeans and a white V-neck T-shirt. "No bra?" he asked as she slipped the shirt on over her wet hair.

She shook her head. "No point if we're going to be back on the bus soon."

"You know people will be looking at you," he said, nodding his head down to the perks that so obviously jutted from the globes under the shirt. "Right?"

She looked down, not even realizing what he was saying, and laughed. "Oh, okay, I see," she said pulling off the shirt and finding a darker shirt. "How about this one?" She held up one of his newer wrestling merchandise shirts. "Solid black."

Her voice seemed to trail off slightly in his mind as he stared at her half-naked form. Below those perfect and natural breasts, were hips that mesmerized him from the very beginning. The band of his jeans lay flush on the widest part of her hips, while the rest of it seemed to engulf her legs and feet. His concentration was only broken by the sight of the black and gold-graphic shirt covering up her waist. She didn't seem to mind that the shirt was a bit too long.

"Here," he said as he finished dressing. He took the excess material of the shirt she wore, and twisted it, tucking it underneath itself.

"Thanks," she said as she stuffed her clothes into his bag. "Ready to go?"

"Ready as ever," he said, taking the bag from her hands and slinging it over his shoulder. As they approached the locker room door, he opened it and waited for her to walk out in front of him. "You ever think of what you want for your birthday?"

"""""

"Steph?" he said quickly as she almost completely walked past him.

She stopped in her tracks as she felt his hand reach out for her arm, and looked up from the stack of papers she was just about halfway through reviewing. "Yes, Jay?"

"I, uh, wanted to get Vivy something really nice for her birthday. It's in a couple of days, and I know you and Paul are throwing her a party at her new house in Connecticut."

"She tell you what she wanted?" she asked, tucking the arm that held the papers underneath her other arm.

"No, that's the thing. She refuses to tell me what she wants. Insists that she doesn't need anything. Believe me, I've asked her nearly every day for the past two weeks in the hopes that she'd at least want _one_ tiny thing."

"Well she didn't tell me anything. Paul and I are just throwing her a fun little get together for the hell of it."

Jay thought carefully, trying to figure out the way to put his words so it wouldn't sound too suspicious to Stephanie. "I kind of wanted to get her a ring," he announced, moving around his hands in thought.

"A ring, huh?" Stephanie said with a smirk.

"Not like how you're thinking," he said quickly as he put his hand up in the air. "She's always liked this green quartz ring, and just never got it for herself. She told me about it years ago, but never wanted to buy it because she said it was too expensive to buy just for her to wear."

"Couple of grand?"

"No, of course not," he said, pursing his lips together. "It's only two hundred and fifty dollars."

"Only two-fifty?"

"That's all it is, but she really likes it, and I was wondering if you knew what her ring size was?"

Stephanie thoughtfully placed her fingertips on her chin. "Last I knew, when I bought her that piece of costume jewelry, it was a size eight. She wears that ring on the middle finger of her right hand though."

"Perfect," he said. "Thanks." As he began turning around to go back into his dressing room to ready for his match that night, her words stopped him.

"You sure you won't get her a big, pretty diamond ring and ask her to marry you?"

He grinned. "Not yet."


	21. Chapter 21

_Connecticut – 7:15 AM_

Connecticut was the perfect place to be to shop for fancy and pricy things. It was early in the morning, and Jay planned to be at Vivian's house for the birthday party that Stephanie was giving her in an hour. He knew that ring was in one of these fancy stores that he honestly had no clue about. He drove past store after store, all lined in a row, with names and brands that he couldn't care less about. But one store in particular jogged his mind a bit. This had to be the one where she saw that ring.

After parking, he briskly walked into the jewelry department and asked for the ring in question. The short, round lady behind the counter, thankfully, knew exactly what he was talking about, and disappeared behind a wall before reappearing with a black box. She opened the box to reveal several smaller velvet boxes, and shimmied out one of the velvet boxes to show him the cushion cut green quartz.

"Now, these are all round cut black diamonds that surround the quartz, and all the stones are set in a sterling silver," the round-faced woman told him.

"Awesome," he said, placing the ring on the glass counter top. "You have another box I can put it in? The gray velvet isn't too appealing."

"Of course, sir. There's a variety of colors I can get you."

"A dark green would do nice."

"Sure thing," she said before turning around and reaching down to the bottom of the cabinets that stood behind the glass counters. She took out a small forest green velvet box and placed it down for him. "Would you like anything else to go with that, sir?"

"Uh, no," he said after a few moments, and placed the ring into the green box. "No, this is good. That's all."

She told him the total and waited for him to pass over his credit card. "Your girlfriend is very lucky," she said with a smile on her face.

Girlfriend? Was Vivian his girlfriend? No, but with this, maybe she would be. He thanked the lady once more, and made his way out of the store and to Vivian's house.

"""""

_Vivian's house– 7:37 AM_

She opened the door with surprise. "You're here rather early."

"Steph's not here with the girls yet?"

"Nope. I started making breakfast for everyone though."

Jay's eyes flattened at the idea of her working herself on her special day. He shut the front door behind him as he followed her into the kitchen. "You know Steph's not going to allow you to work, right?"

"I know, but she's not here yet, so I'm going to squeeze in as much as I can before she gets here," Vivian said with a wide smile. "Besides, it's only a few breakfast quiches. Nothing too over the top."

He stared at the black stove. "Nothing over the top? There's three of them."  
"Well, I couldn't just make one for everyone. It wouldn't be enough, and not everyone wants the same thing." She placed the three tins on a long metal tray and placed it on the dark granite counter top next to the stove. "Help yourself, by the way."

"Can you let this be the only thing you make today? I would really hate for Stephanie to have to tie you down and force you to relax," he said with a chuckle as he rubbed the stubble on his face.

She blew through her lips. "Fine. Nothing else today. I promise."

"Good, now," he said, standing up from the kitchen island stool he sat on. "I wanted to give you this before everyone came."

"Jay, I said I didn't want anything," she sighed as she leaned on the counter across from him.

"I know, I know, but I also know that you've been wanting this for quite some time."

Her ears perked up at the sound of him pulling a dark green box from his jean pocket, and her eyebrows shot up at the thought of what it could be. It couldn't be what she thought it was, could it? No way he'd do this to her while they were both going through a divorce.

"Jay... "

He placed down the velvet square in front of her. "It's not what you think. Just open it."

Giving him one last look, she picked up the soft box and slowly opened it, a hand immediately flying to her mouth as she realized it was a ring she said she wanted many years ago. But how did he even remember? It wasn't the fanciest, and wasn't by far the most expensive ring she could want, but to her, it was such a beautiful ring.

"Jay, I can't believe... " She pulled the ring from it's cradle and slid it on her pointer finger. "How did you know... "

"You told me a while ago that you wanted that ring. Remember? When we were walking through a mall somewhere. A little jewelry store here had it." He watched as she slid it off her pointer finger and placed it on her middle finger of her right hand, the hand in which Stephanie had given the size to Jay.

"It's too small for this finger."

The smile on his face was replaced with a touch of panic as she attempted to pull it off.

"Too small? That's the finger Steph gave me the size to." He was quickly at her side, grabbing her hand and trying to pull off the silver ring.

She couldn't help but laugh as she stood next to him with her arm twisted up, Jay trying to pry the band from around her finger. "This isn't going to work," she giggled. Just then the door bell rang. "You answer that. I'm going to the bathroom in my bedroom to try and see if I can get it off."

He let her hand go and nodded before sprinting to the door.

"When did you get here?" asked the voice of Stephanie as she walked past him, a round tray of what looked like cheesecake in her hands.

"Since about twenty minutes ago. Hey, Paul," he said as he stuck his hand out for Paul to shake.

"How you doing, man?" Paul responded, shaking Jay's hand and then shutting the door behind the four of them.

"Where's Viv?" Stephanie asked as she placed the tray on the island in the kitchen.

"In her bathroom. We had a little incident."

"Incident?" Paul asked. "Do we want to know?"

"Stop it, Paul," Stephanie scoffed as she tapped her husband lightly on his chest with the back of her hand. "You two go get Shawn up and ready. I'll go see to her."

When Stephanie approached Vivian's bedroom door, she knocked.

"Come in," she heard Vivian say, and made her way through the bedroom and into the bathroom.

"What happened?"

"Jay bought me that green ring I've wanted for years, you know, the green quartz one. Well, he just gave it to me, and apparently, the ring size you gave him was too small." She tried to suppress a giggle. "And now," she continued, holding up the hand. "I can't seem to get it off."

"Too small?"

"I seem to be getting that question a lot today," she laughed out. "Really, I think that ring size was about a year before I had Shawn. It's too small," she said with a crinkled face.

Stephanie could no longer hold back the smile that threatened to laugh in her friend's face. "I'm sorry, Viv. We can get it sized."

"No, it'll fit. Just not this finger."

"Come with me. Nothing a bit of butter couldn't fix."

Vivian turned off the sink faucet and followed Stephanie back out into the kitchen.

"""""

_"Happy birthday to you!"_ everyone sang. _"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Vivy! Happy birthday to you!"_

They waited a moment in the silence before Vivian blew out her candles, and then they all cheered.

"What'd you wish for, mommy?" Shawn asked from the stool he was kneeling on right next to his mother.

"You'll just have to wait and find out later," she replied, tapping his nose gently. She reached for the cake slicer, but her hand was slapped away by Stephanie's.

"Ah-ah," Stephanie said. "When I said no work, I mean no work. You're lucky you got off on making breakfast for us all this morning."

"Yeah, but birthday or not, Viv, you can make those any day," Paul said as he held Murphy on his lap to feed her some cake.

She smiled as she happily ate her cake. It was a fairly plain and simple cake. Her only request of the cake was that she wanted the icing to be whipped cream. Anything else was left up to Paul and Stephanie and the kids. With the kids, of course, it ended up being half chocolate and half butter cake. And Stephanie tossed her touch in there too, requesting the cake shop mix the two for a small section in the middle, creating a marble cake.

Vivian rather enjoyed the conversations she had with Paul and Stephanie. With Jay around, it was even better. Having them all sit around in the den, laughing and talking as she opened her gifts was the best thing in the world to her. This was exactly what she'd always wanted from her life. To simply share good times with people she loved.

She didn't know if it was mean or sad, but she didn't even think of Jeff at all for most of the day. Didn't give any thought to him at all, and Shawn didn't seem to mind that his father wasn't around either. But come to think of it, the little boy had only gone through one of his birthdays with Jeff. Maybe to him, it was normal to not even have Jeff around for special occasions. To him, having his dad on his birthday _was_ a gift to him.

And as they sat around on the plush couches, wrapping paper and random cardboard boxes surrounding them that the kids saw fit to play in, she heard Jay's voice ask her a question.

"Viv, what was your reasoning for your... separation?" he asked, wary of Shawn's ears.

She looked to where he stood at the edge of den, slightly confused. She stood, answering him. "Irreconcilable differences. Why?"

"This," he said, handing her the sheet of paper that he'd pulled from an envelope that came in the mail earlier. She sat down on a kitchen island stool to read the paper in question, and by that time, Stephanie and Paul were standing at the island as well.

"What's it say?" Paul asked after giving her a few seconds to read it.

Vivian looked up, glancing at each one of them before her sight landed back on Jay. "He's contesting the divorce."


	22. Chapter 22

"Contesting it?" came Stephanie's voice shortly before her jaw dropped and her brows furrowed.

"That's what it says," Vivian replied, sliding the paper over the dark granite between them. "He won't grant me the divorce."

"Who got the ball rolling?" Paul asked as he took the paper from his wife's hand to read it himself. "You or him?"

"I did," she answered, rubbing her face with her hands. "He said he was fine with it. I didn't have any clue whatsoever he'd fight me on it."

Paul cleared his throat. "And the house is sold, right?"

"Sold about three weeks ago," Stephanie added along with Vivian's nod. "Houses there always snatch up fast."

"Was it under his name?" Paul continued asking.

"No," Vivian answered, shaking her head. "Just mine. He put the money down for it."

"Well, then it's not about the house," Jay commented. "Shawn maybe?"

"He knows I'd never hold his son away from him."

"Maybe he thinks you will," Paul concluded. "I mean, you've moved. Out of state. He doesn't even know your address."

"He can ask for it," she said squaring her jaw. "I'm not playing games with him. If it's a fight he's looking for, I'll take him on now. I know what's coming to me at least."

"Oh, come on now, Viv," Paul scoffed out. "The next time he even tries to physically fight you, I'll break him in half."

"Yeah," Jay added. "I'm not letting him anywhere near you ever again."

Stephanie sat there quietly reading over the other documents that came along with the one Jay pointed out. "Says here, he claims the marital differences can be resolved, and that a dissolution of marriage isn't necessary." She placed the paper she read from on the counter top and tapped it with a manicured fingernail.

Jay looked at Vivian with what he thought was fear, then cleared his throat as he shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't think him shoving you down so hard that he knocks you out and putting you in the hospital is resolvable."

"You can use our lawyers," Paul offered. "Any little bit will help, because it doesn't look like he's going to let you go easily now."

"Does he know of you two being together?" Stephanie asked.

Jay shook his head. "Not that I know of. I didn't tell anyone, and I know Vivy didn't."

"Speaking of which," Paul started, rubbing around his mouth. "Are you two, you know, together?"

"Why? Who's asking?" Vivian jumped to ask.

"Well, no one," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Let's just say for my own sake, I'd like to know... You know, since the ring and everything."

She looked down at the cushion cut stone, realizing what he meant. "It's only on this finger because it's the only one it happened to fit. And after having to clean butter off of it a first time, I don't want to do it again."

Stephanie let out a sharp laugh, only to confirm it. "It's true. That ring was a pain to get off that finger. It was a bit too small for the ring finger on her right hand though."

Jay bit down on his lip in amusement.

"And what are you laughing at, sir? You think it's funny that your ring nearly made my finger into a blueberry that could be popped off?"

Stephanie, also biting back laughter, glanced at Paul who looked at her as well. They knew that was only the beginning of their love tales together.

"""""

By the time Stephanie and Jay were cleaning up, Paul and Vivian were sitting on the couch, each with a sleeping girl in their arms and Shawn sleeping in between them.

"They look so peaceful," Vivian stated quietly.

"Well," Stephanie said as she sat down on the love seat. "I have a gift for you from me and Paul."

"Yeah?" She moved her legs so Jay could sit on the floor in front of her.

"Found out about a week or so ago," Paul said.

"What?" Vivian asked anxiously as Jay grabbed her legs to rub them.

"You're going to be an auntie for the third time," Stephanie finally announced with a wide smile on her face.

"Oh, how wonderful!" Vivian said in a quiet voice, careful not to wake the children. "Oh, I'm so excited!" She held out her hand, and Stephanie took it and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Letting go of Vivian's hand, Stephanie sat back into the soft love seat. "I love living so close to you now. We should get going now though. The girls will be cranky as all get out if they don't sleep in their own beds." She stood, leaning over Jay to give Vivian a kiss on her cheek. Paul did the same, leaning over Shawn's sleeping form, before standing with Murphy in his arms. Stephanie took a sleeping Aurora from Vivian's arms. "We'll see you two on the road."

"Love you guys," Vivian said, then turned back to Jay. "What a nice day that was. I highly enjoyed that."

"I'm glad you enjoyed your day, sweetheart." He rubbed her smooth legs before looking at her with a sparkle in his eye. "Why don't we put Shawn to bed, and I'll give you a great birthday night, too."

She smiled at him. "Great idea."


	23. Chapter 23

_January 2012 12:04 PM – Vivian's home_

They furiously claimed each others mouths, glad that this time around they didn't have to pretend like it didn't matter. This day so many years ago, they'd only gotten the chance to complete each other once. But this time... This time, it was very different. They didn't even bother watching the ball drop, and with Shawn over at Stephanie and Paul's house spending the weekend with the girls, Vivian and Jay didn't hold anything back. She was almost determined to rub memories of her and Jay all over this house.

They had left the bathroom and were now walking back into their bedroom. With every sense she had going off all at once in her, she didn't know what to even think. Should she think of the way his warm breath seemed to burn her core? Or perhaps she should think of the way his hands seemed to touch her ever so lightly, setting her skin on fire... Or maybe... Maybe she should think of how he was throbbing inside of her, pulsing with every move he made. She didn't know what it was, but everything he did seemed more intense. More erotic.

He placed her onto the bed with a rough toss, making her prop herself up on her elbows as he climbed over her and dominated her body once more. Something about the way he completely overpowered her right now was driving her insane. The way he positioned her just the way he wants her. The way he claimed every part of her curvaceous body piece by piece. The way he left her wanting more and more of him until they both were so tired out, they laid spread out on the bed, gasping for air.

"I've never... in all my life... " Jay tried to get out. He couldn't even count the times he had released himself inside of her, and all he knew about her peaks were that they were violently intense as she squeezed him with all her might every single time.

She ran a finger over his lips. "Jay, I love you," she breathed out. His only response was more heavy breathing, still trying to get some words out. "I think we should just go to bed now. I'm pretty sure I'm going to need the rest seeing how I won't be able to walk tomorrow."

He nodded his head. "Yeah... you... you... "

She laughed at his silliness as she scooted up to her pillow, and waited for him to finally compose himself to lay next to her. After quite a bit of time had passed, he was laying on her naked chest, listening to her heartbeat. He felt so content as he looked up at her sleeping face. Nothing in this world could ever compare to being with her right here in this moment.

"""""

_February 2012 – Stephanie's office at WWE headquarters_

"Flowers? For me?" Vivian asked, tilting her head to one side. "From who?"

Stephanie plucked the card from the plastic holder that was placed in with the stems. "It says, _'I need to start making this right, Jeff,'_"

"Make what right?" Vivian groaned as she stood from the corner of the desk she sat on. "Steph, there's nothing to make right. We hadn't been 'right' for nearly all of our marriage."

Just as Vivian plopped down on the leather couch on the far side of her office, Paul opened the door, Jay, who was holding Shawn, close behind him.

"Babe, we have that creative meeting with your dad soon," he said to Stephanie.

"Okay, I'll be right there." She cleaned off her desk, putting files away neatly in the large dark wood cabinet behind her. "Come on," she said to Vivian as she lightly stepped her way to the door in which Paul had left open.

Vivian followed Stephanie down to the floor where the conference room was. Linda waited for Vivian to stop in front of her before giving her a hug.

"After this meeting, we're all going for a lady's day out," Linda told her.

She smiled and agreed. "Sure thing. I'm sure we could all use it."

"Good," Linda said, patting her arm, then turning to her granddaughters. "You both be good for your Aunt Vivy." With that, she left to disappear into the massive room where her husband and son-in-law were already sitting. Stephanie soon followed them in as well.

Vivian sat alone with the kids playing on the oversized couch adjacent from her for a few minutes before she heard his voice behind her.

"Vivian," came the sultry voice. She turned to meet his blue eyes.

"Hey, Randy."

"I just wanted to say hello to such a beautiful lady sitting out here all by herself before I go into a meeting."

The smile that twisted his mouth in only the way he could do it, caught her off guard. She sat there, holding Murphy in her lap, trying her best to return his smile without showing any hint of amusement. She watched him as he tread past her, much in the snake-like manner that birthed him his "Viper" nickname. Shaking herself of the awkward encounter, she continued to wait for Stephanie and Linda to emerge from the conference room.

"""""

_Connecticut – 4:35 PM – Salon_

"Now tell me, girls, please," Vivian said after controlling her laughter. "If either of you think it's odd at all that Randy approached me in front of the meeting earlier."

Stephanie wiped the corner of her eyes free from tears that were a result of laughing so hard. "What did he say?"

"Said that he just wanted to say hello to a 'beautiful lady sitting all by herself,'" she reported back to them, paraphrasing what Randy said to her earlier that day.

"What?" Linda said in shock. "Be it far from a compliment from him. I can look at that young man and tell how much of ladies man he is."

"Mom, we all know he is," Stephanie quipped in. "And without fault either. Good looks. Nice body. Great career. Any girl would go crazy over him."

"Yeah, but come on, ladies," Vivian said looking down at her toes, which the salon lady was painting. "I think it's just a bit odd, considering the fact that I kind of told him off. Does this color look okay on me?"

The two ladies leaned towards her to get a better look of the ruby-painted big toe of Vivian's, and both nodded.

"Looks fabulous," Linda commented first. "And honey, told off isn't the term. You cussed him out."

"Yeah, it looks great, Viv," Stephanie confirmed before continuing on with the topic at hand. "I suppose it is odd if you take that into account. I've never known him to be one who just accepted when someone so blatantly slapped him in the face, so to speak. And having that mouth on him, I'm still surprised however many years later, that he never snapped back at you for it."

Vivian slightly nodded her head in thought. She knew Stephanie was right. Randy wasn't the type of person to simply accept what people slung at him. He was going to catch what you aimed at him and throw it back at you with twice as much force and velocity. Vivian didn't know if it were his upbringing or if it was just how he was, but he didn't take things laying down. She had always liked that about the man though, because she was much like that. Always speaking your mind, saying what you mean, and meaning what you say. It was just something people didn't seem to do anymore.

"""""

When Vivian returned back home, Jay was sitting in the den watching television with Shawn. Vivian made her way to her bedroom, dropping down the bag of clothes and items that she had picked out from Stephanie's wardrobe. She didn't hear Jay come into the room as she shut the bathroom door.

"Babe," he said, opening the door so he could poke his head in to talk to her. "We ate dinner and did his homework together. I'm going to see he gets into bed now."

"Thanks, sweetie," she called out as she started the shower. As she closed the shower door, he shut the bathroom door. She was rinsing shampoo out of her hair when she heard his voice again.

"What are all the bags?"

She turned off the shower and squeezed excess water out of her hair before opening the shower door to grab a towel. "Clothes and stuff from Steph."

He left the bathroom door open as he turned to look at the bags that sat next to their closet. She emerged from the bathroom, a soft, light blue robe covering her naked body. Hovering over the items he was looking at, she dried off her hair.

"Why'd she give you all this?" he asked, not taking his eyes from the bag.

"It was either stuff she didn't wear anymore or things that I liked."

"That was nice of her." He quickly glanced up at her, then did a double-take, realizing what she was wearing. "Is that my robe?" he asked, a grin on his face as he stood.

"Yes," she said innocently. "Looks good on me, doesn't it?"

"It does," he said, crossing his arms. "I'd like to see how it looks on the floor, though."

She teased him a bit, grabbing the edge of the side. "I'd love to, Jay, but I have to get up early in the morning. Jeff is picking up Shawn."

"Coming here?" he asked, his eyes following her movements as she went into the closet to change.

"Yes, here. He's taking Shawn out for the day. Said he had off."

"You really want him to know where you live?"

"Jay," she said coming out of the closet and sitting on the bed. "He's going to have to know anyway for Shawn's sake."

Jay bowed his head. "I don't like the idea, Viv."

She sighed as she twisted her hair up and put it into a loose bun. "I don't either, but they have to spend some time together. And I really don't want to go to North Carolina like he's been asking me to do."

"Asking you to go visit him?" he asked as he laid in the bed next to her. "Has he been calling you?"

"A few times for Shawn."

As she fixed her hair for bed, he noticed her left hand.

"Where's the ring I gave you?"

"In my bag. I wanted to get it cleaned. The bits of butter in the facet settings attracted dirt since we tried to get it off the other finger, and it looks murky."

"If you're going to wear it on that finger, why are you still wearing this?" he asked her, slightly annoyed, as he pulled on the clear diamond solitaire that was her wedding ring.

"I don't know. I just put it back on. Why are you asking so many questions?"

Jay sighed deeply. "Nothing."

"No," she said softly as she cuddled herself next to him. "Something's wrong. Tell me. I know how you feel about Jeff, and as much as I'd like to completely cut him out now, I can't."

He took Vivian's hand in his, rubbing it lovingly. "It took me so long to finally have you and I won't be so willing to give you up. I'll fight for you, Vivian," he said looking into her eyes. "In any way I have to. With him contesting the divorce and then him coming here, I don't want him sneaking his way back into your heart." He brought her hand to his lips, kissing the top of it. "And then with you still wearing his ring, I don't know, I guess I'm just highly irritated at him."

Vivian pulled the rings off her finger and chucked them across the room, not caring where they landed. He grinned at her, moving in closer to claim her mouth.


	24. Chapter 24

_Valentine's Day 2012 – 11:27 AM – Vivian and Jay's home_

"God, I didn't know he'd stay through Valentine's." Vivian slumped on the couch next to Jay. Shawn had been out with Jeff since earlier this morning, and although it was normal of them to spend all day together, she didn't want to think of what Jeff might be concocting for a Valentine's gift for her. Worse thing is, he had Shawn with him, so she knew Shawn would be a part of it. And she couldn't shoot Shawn down, no matter how much she didn't particularly like his father.

She fell flat on her side into the couch as Jay stood to answer the door which someone was knocking on. He expected it to be Shawn and his father returning, but he was surprised at what it was.

"A flower arrangement?" Vivian asked after walking over to where Jay had set down the vase full of big bright red roses. "Who's this one from?"

"Randy?" Jay asked, his brows shooting up. "What, uh, what's Randy sending you flowers for?"

She shrugged, "I have no idea." She took the envelope from his hand, taking the card from inside, and read it. "He asked me out."

The card was carelessly tossed onto the counter top, and Vivian made her way back to the den.

"Asked you out? What do you mean?" he asked, even more irritated than he was last night. "What's he doing asking you out? He has a wife."

"Jay, I have no idea. Throw the card out."

"Did you talk to him at the headquarters?"

"He said hi to me. That's all."

"Well, asking you out was an awesome way to say hi."

She looked over at him, seeing the anger in his eyes as he ripped the card and envelope into two and gingerly dumped both halves into the trash can. "Ignore it, baby. I'm not paying that man any bit of mind."

"I find it unbelievable. One leaves, and another one rolls right in."

"Come here," she said, patting the cushion next to her, willing him to sit with her. When he did, she placed her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "No one's going to take your place now. So just ignore it."

They heard the door open, Shawn talking excitedly as the entered the house.

"Mommy's gonna love it, dad."

"Shh, shh," Jeff bid him, placing a finger up to his lips. "You don't want to spoil it, do you? Here, take this and give it to your mom."

Shawn did as he said, taking the bag of her favorite candy over to her. She smiled as the little boy handed her a bag of almond Snickers and gave her a hug.

"Thank you, sweetie. How'd you know I loved these?"

"Now," Jeff announced. "Here's my gift." He placed a cardboard box down and pointed at it. "Go on. Open it, Vivy."

She heard Jay openly groan, no doubt over the name Jeff still used for her, as she stood and went into the kitchen where the box was. Opening each of the four flaps, she looked puzzled.

"It's just a bunch of Oreos," she said picking up a pack of the cookies.

"Look deeper," Jeff nearly whispered to her. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, then did as he said, and moved around more cookie packs. That's when she heard it. The squeak of a puppy yelping. And then she saw its head poke its way through the cookies to her hands.

"Pull him out, mommy!" she heard her son say.

"A border collie? Jeff!" she exclaimed as she hugged the fluffy puppy.

"We named him Oreo!" Shawn informed her.

"Oh, I love him!"

Jeff stood back, arms crossed over his chest, and grinned. "I remember you told me you want a border collie years ago, and that you wanted to name him Oreo."

She genuinely smiled at Jeff for the first time in many months. "Thank you."

"""""

"Don't you think you should talk to him about it before he leaves?"

Vivian quietly ate the soup she had in front of her. She and Jay cooked their Valentine's day dinner together, seeing how they had to start traveling again in the morning, neither one of them wanted to bother going out. Though now, Jay sat across from the candle-lit patio table they were eating their meal at, wracking his brain for some chaos control. He knew things would have to settle down before he and Vivian could really announce their relationship to everyone, and as far as he knew, Jeff didn't have a clue. All Jay cared about was Jeff not spending a night there, which thankfully, neither he nor Vivian had insisted on.

"I'll talk to him. Don't worry about it." She stared down at the half-eaten bowl of soup. Just the mere look of it made her stomach churn. Jay noticed she hadn't been eating well at all recently, and figured that with everything going on recently, that her nerves must be frazzled.

Jay simply studied her as he finished his plate. And by the time they were done with their quiet dinner, Jay saw that Shawn was in bed and packed up for travel in the coming morning. Vivian sought out Jeff in a little rock cove near the pool in the backyard.

"I love it back here," she heard him say, as he took a drag from a cigarette. "It's nice and calm."

She followed the tiny lighted end of the cigarette to where he sat on a bench carved from the rock itself. "It is," she agreed. She looked at him for a moment before continuing on. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"What about? You seem to be happy with your new life now."

She sighed, crossing her arms over her stomach. "Is that why you contested the divorce? Because you're wanting to hold onto something you no longer have?"

"No longer have? Be honest with me," he said as he put out the cigarette. "I never had you, did I?"

Slowly, she walked closer to him. "You did. Even for the years we were apart, you did."

"I won't even go there again. You don't seem to have even the tiniest amount of a reason why you really hid it. Did you think it was Jay's baby?"

"No," she said defiantly, shaking her head. "I told you, Jeff, I didn't do anything with him after we were married."

"How do I fucking know that?" he asked angrily as he stood up and smashed the cigarette butt against a rock, effectively putting it out. "After you stopped catering, I didn't see you at all! But he did? He saw you in all those years that I missed! Can you blame me for not trusting you?"

"Well then," she said with a tear threatening to fall. "Maybe that's the best reason you have to sign the papers."

"You expect me to just sign them and not even fight?"

"Fight for what, Jeff? All we do now is fight with each other. It's gotten physical now and it never bounces back from that."

He was quiet as he walked to her. "We could bounce back from anything, remember?" His hand trailed down the side of her face. "Nothing seemed to get in between us. We were inseparable. Nothing could touch us. What happened to us?"

Before she could stop him, he placed a light, gentle kiss on her lips. Her hand found its way to touch his cheek as she gave into it. She gave into him, just like she always did. If she didn't know any better, she would have taken him back that instant. But she knew things just wouldn't be the same. Things between them were rotting down to its core, and there was nothing to reverse the unrepairable damage. There was no saving them, and she hoped Jeff realized that. She broke the kiss, letting their foreheads press against each other.

"The dog peed on the kitchen floor." The voice made her jump out of the close proximity of Jeff. "Just thought you'd like to know," he added, sounding none too thrilled as he placed the puppy down on the ground and turned to go back into the house.

Vivian gasped as she realized he must have seen them. He saw them kiss. She pushed away from the hold that Jeff had on her after watching Jay close the sliding door.

"Jay?" she called out after him, quickly going back into the house after him. "Jay!" She followed him through the house and into the bedroom they shared.

"I wasn't going to break you two up again. Since I apparently was doing that for years anyway," he said, not wanting to even look at her as he started shoving more clothes into his bag.

"Jay, you know I don't want him."

"Sure as hell didn't look like it to me."

"Jay, look at me," she said, quickly grabbing his hands to stop his motions.

He sighed, relaxing his movements under her hands, and looked up at the ceiling. "I knew this would happen."

"You knew it from him. Not from me. You know I don't want him. Jay, you _know_ it. You went through my hell with me."

"Did he leave?"

"Probably," she said as she let go of his hands, and headed over the window of their room in which she could partially see the driveway. "His car is gone."

He exhaled heavily and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Do you know how much I didn't want to see that? Ever? I mean, you kissing your ex-husband. I feel like he'll taunt me."

"He has nothing to do with us," she said as she walked back over to him. "Why do you think I told him he couldn't stay the nights here?" She tapped his knee. "Why don't we get showered and go to bed? We have an early day tomorrow."

He looked up at her, a grin on his face.


	25. Chapter 25

_WWE Headquarters – 8:32 AM_

"Shawn! You ready?"

"Yes, mom," the little boy said as he came flying down the hallway, a bag trailing behind him.

"Awesome, you and your bag go into the bus. We're leaving soon."

"Viv, can I talk to you?" Paul asked as he approached her. "It's about the menu."

"Sure," she said as she grabbed up her own bag. "Shawn on the bus please, baby."

"I got him," Jay said as he picked the boy up as well as holding the bag he carried. "We'll be on the bus."

"Thanks, honey." She turned to follow where Paul had walked off to. She looked to Paul's smiling face. "What?" she said, him leading them into the bus that was his and Stephanie's.

"'Thanks, honey,'" he jokingly mocked her.

"Remind me to replace all the sugar in your cookies with salt," Vivian said as she sat down at the small table that was strewn with papers. "What's all this?"

"Schedules and menus."

"Okay," she said, beginning to sort through it all. "Looks like most of it is all the same basic things."

"We need you to give us a rough note of items you'll need. Vince was asking me for days about it, but of course, I wouldn't see you until now."

"Right," she said, looking back down to the menu requests. "Shouldn't take but a minute or so. I assume the kitchens in the arenas will provide some."

"Yeah," Paul confirmed. "They should."

They were sitting at the table for a while before Stephanie came in, bags in her hand.

"Oh, Viv, good. You're here." She plopped down on the couch across from them, slightly out of breath. "Jay was looking all over for you. Thought I'd never get him to not follow me."

"Why? He knows I went with Paul."

"Because he wants to be around you at all times," Paul teased with attempted puppy eyes.

"Ha-ha," Vivian said as she stood from the table. "There's the list your dad wants, Steph. Should be everything I need for what's on the menus. I'll see you two later on."

"Thank you, Vivy!" Stephanie called out behind her as she took off.

"""""

"Shawn's taking a nap," Jay informed her, shutting the compartment door to the bunks behind him, as she sat down on the couch. He walked in front of her a few times, arms folded over his abdomen and a near disgruntled look on his face.

She fixed hard eyes on him. "What are you pacing around in front of me for?" Her words made him pause, and he placed one hand up to his chin.

"What am I pacing for?" he asked, almost in a mocking tone. "What is Randy Orton coming up to me for, telling me what you agreed to a date with him at the conference?"

"He what?" she asked, her jaw dropping. "Why's he telling you that?"

"So it's true?" He watched her eyes drop as she tilted her head.

"No, and the fact that you think it is makes me want to punch you. You saw the card he sent with those roses and I didn't care to respond to it."

"So where's he getting that?"

"I don't know. You know that we talked for a bit outside of the meeting before he went in. But it wasn't anything extensive. It wasn't even long enough for him to invite me out to lunch."

"Mhm, and what did he say to you?"

"Something about saying hello to a beautiful lady or whatever. Jay, I don't remember now. I didn't care to memorize it. What's your problem? He's married with a kid."

"Yeah," he said, continuing his pacing. "And so are you."

She looked sharply at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He sighed, running a hand over his face. "Look, I'm sorry, babe," he said as he sat down next to her, grabbing at her hips. "I don't want to start fighting over senseless things."

"Then why are you?" She crossed her arms over her chest, denying him the hug he tried to pull her into. "If I wanted to fight with someone, I would have stayed with Jeff." She felt his body go limp as he hung his head.

"Is that what you want? Want me to leave you alone so you can go back to Jeff? Want me to stop the bus so I can get off, and you can go to him?" He didn't hear a peep out of her as she stared blankly ahead of her. "Hmm? Is that what you want? What did he even say about the papers?"

"What is that any of your concern?" she asked, looking at him with anger in her eyes.

"What do you mean? You're my girlfriend. You think I won't be concerned about it?"

"You shouldn't be. It's not your place to be concerned." She stood, walking into the small kitchen and leaned on the counter.

"What do you mean not my place? Are we not together?" When she didn't answer, he looked down into his hands and nodded. "Okay, I get it. I'm just your fuck buddy now, right? You leave your husband after he bloodies you up, and now you need someone to sleep with. Well, no wonder you picked me. You knew I've loved you since the day I saw you."

"That is not what I meant, Jay. Don't put words in my mouth. I filed the shit myself. I can't help that he wants to fight against it."

"Then tell me, right now," he breathed out as he got up to stand in front of her, "that we're together."

She tried to look everywhere but at his handsome face that was looking straight into her soul. "I feel wrong for admitting it."

"But you can lay down with me?"

"That's different, Jay! Sex is different than being in a relationship with someone."

"So it is just sex between us," he said, sounding so defeated, her heart broke. "After all we were to each other for nearly fifteen years, now I'm just someone you can get dick from. That's nice to know." He turned from her, leaning against the counter.

She felt like she couldn't talk. All the words she wanted to say to him seem to jumble around in her mind. Tears she just couldn't hold back found their way down her cheeks. "Jay," she said quietly.

"When we stop, I'll get my stuff."

"No," she whispered, watching as he slid open the compartment door and disappeared to the back of the bus.

"""""

Vivian woke up from the jar of the bus coming to a complete stop. She sat up on the mattress, realizing that her son was not in the bunk parallel to hers as he was when she dozed off. It took her a minute to hear the sounds coming from the small living area. She stretched as she stood, and opened the compartment door. Jay and Shawn were sitting on the couch playing a wrestling game. Leaning against the door way, she smiled as she saw her excited son get the win.

"Good job, Shawn," Jay said. He placed the controller down as Shawn jumped into his lap.

"I beat you, Uncle Jay," he said, placing his hands on either side of Jay's face and squeezing.

"That you did," he laughed as he hugged the little boy.

"We're stopped for the night?" Jay heard her soft voice ask.

He cleared his throat, letting go of Shawn, and looked up at her. "Yeah, we're stopped at the hotel." He watched Shawn turn off the game console and neatly put everything away.

She looked down at her feet, biting her lip as she looked back to him. "You still leaving?" she asked in an even softer voice. He stood, meeting her at the door way, and took her hands into his.

"No, and I'm sorry I even said that." She lowered her head into his chest as he hugged gently around her waist. He could have kicked himself for being so mean and unthoughtful to her. He knew he didn't need to add to any more stress she was already dealing with. "Come on, let's get to our rooms," he whispered into her hair.

They all collected their bags and headed their way into the lobby of the hotel. Jay saw Randy sitting in the lobby, talking amongst a few fellow wrestlers. The smile on Randy's face wiped away when he saw Jay make a point to hold Vivian's hand after they received their room key and walked to the elevators. Jay also noted the fact that Randy saw Shawn, looking slightly confused as to why the little boy was with the two of them.

When they were in the suite, their bags neatly stored away and all of them changed for bed, Jay laid next to Vivian on their bed.

"You okay?" she asked him, picking up a card from the game that she was playing with Shawn.

"I'm fine," he said. He watched them play their card game a few moments before asking her the question on his mind. "Randy know he's your son?"

"I suppose so. I never made it a point to tell Randy I had a kid at all. I don't talk to him much. Why?"

"Nothing," he said, lightly shaking his head. He didn't miss the way Vivian looked at him from the side as she finished the card game with her son.

"Time to go to bed, Shawnie-boy."

"Aww mom, can't I stay up with Uncle Jay?"

"No, no. You have to be up early so you can leave with your Aunt Stephanie."

"I'm going back to school?"

"Well, you gotta go to school, Shawn," Jay commented. "How else are you going to get so smart?"

"I can be a wrestler just like you!" he said, climbing on top of Jay.

Vivian's heart warmed at the sight of Jay tickling Shawn, and their laughter filling the room. Wiping a laughter tear from her eye, she heard the soft rumbling of his voice. "I'll put him in his bed." He then stood, taking Shawn into the other separated room from the rest of the suite. When he came back, he saw Vivian laying down in her space on the bed, her legs tantalizing him. The soft glow of her tanned skin practically calling out for him to touch her smooth legs.

He bowed his head, and let out a small laugh to himself. Everything he wanted to do with her would have to wait for later nights. Not only because Shawn was here with them for the night, but because she was sleeping like a baby herself. He pulled the shirt he wore off and slid into bed, making sure to cover her up as well.


	26. Chapter 26

_**A/N:** These next three chapters are for Lauralena. Thanks for reviewing and enjoying my story!_

_March 2012 – 2:15 PM – Vivian and Jay's home_

_"All I want to do is see my son,"_ he angrily said to her as she fiddled around with a pen.

Vivian sat on the floor against the couch in the den. "I know that, Jeff, and you will if you can come here. His birthday will be held here."

_"Why can't it ever be held here? There's plenty of room in Matt's house."_

"I know that, but it's easier if you and Matt came here. You're two people as opposed to a whole jet full."

_"Fine, whatever, Viv. We'll be there in a week then."_

He ended the called, not even giving her a chance to tell him any details. Over the past few weeks, he'd become unbearable to deal with. He knew Shawn was going to the school that Stephanie used for Aurora, and soon, Murphy would be attending it as well. Yet, he insisted that she was somehow keeping Shawn from him. _A case,_ she thought to herself as she stood and headed into the kitchen. _That must be it. He's trying to build some sort of case against me._ She shook her head as she pulled a large glass bowl of rising pizza dough to her from the back of the counter.

Her phone vibrated on the counter top where she placed it down before grabbing the bowl.

"Such a welcoming name," she said with a sigh. "What are you doing?"

_"Jeff called again?"_

"Yes, and I kept having to tell him that Shawn's party will be down here. It's just easier."

Jay chuckled. _"Well, I'm at the airport now. Just got off the plane. I'll be home soon. Love you."_

"Love you too, baby. See you when you get in." She set the phone back down on the counter and continued to make the deep dish pizzas. She heard the door fly open just as she placed the last one into the oven, Jay dragging his luggage through the door.

"Uncle Jay!" Shawn shouted excitedly as he ran to give the man a hug.

"Hey! How you doing buddy?"

"Mommy's making deep dish pizzas for dinner!"

"Wow, they're going to be delicious."

"I hope they will be," she said walking up to him and giving him a kiss. "The smell of them is already making me sick."

He stared blankly at her as he watched her take his rolling luggage and place it against the side of the kitchen island.

"The smell of pizza is making you sick? Your favorite food in the entire world? Making you sick?"

She waved off his questions. "Eh, I just made ones that you and Shawn would like."

"Vivy, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Why?"

"Because the day you claim pizza makes you sick, zombies have to be taking over the world or something."

"Jay," she laughed out as he rushed to feel her head. "Jay, I'm fine. Really. I'm just a little tired. I felt sick to my stomach after breakfast and I kind of threw up a little bit. But I'm fine."

"You threw up?" he asked, his eyebrows shooting up.

"Yeah, I just felt a little, you know," she said as she sat on a stool and flicked her wrist from side to side, "sick. Nauseous."

"Nauseous," he repeated as he leaned his elbows on the counter top across from her. He placed his hands on his chin, obvious to Vivian that he was thinking. "I'm going to the store."

"For what?"

"Want anything?" He continued onto the front door without looking back at her.

"N-No," she said quietly.

"I'll be back," he said, turning his head back to her and giving her a wink.

"""""

_"A wink?"_

"A wink, I'm tellin' ya. Like a sly fox wink."

Stephanie laughed before asking, _"Is he back yet?"_

"No, not yet. You're coming over tomorrow, right?"

_"Yeah, I'll be over with the girls at lunch time. I am not sitting in that office all day. I need to be somewhere comfortable."_

The front door opening caught Vivian's attention. "Steph, I'll see you tomorrow. He's back, and I'm dying to know what he got." She waited for Stephanie to hang up to stand up from the den couch and stroll over to where Jay had placed a plastic bag full of boxes.

"Here," he said pulling out one of the slender boxes. He watched anxiously as she glanced over the box, then stared at him.

"A pregnancy test? You went to the store to get a bag full of pregnancy tests?"

"Yeah," he said with a wide smile on his face. The smile faded as she placed the box onto the counter top.

"I'm not pregnant, Jay."

"How do you know for sure? You've been throwing up. You feel nauseous. You've barely been eating. The smell of pizza makes you sick, for God's sake... _Pizza!_"

"Doesn't mean I am."

"Can you just do it?" he pleaded with her, taking her hand into his. "For me? Please?"

She sighed, then grabbed up the bag. "Fine, fine. I will go take them."

He followed her into their bathroom, excited as could ever be.

"""""

_Vivian and Jay's home - 12:26 PM_

"He watched you?" Stephanie asked, her jaw dropping slightly.

"Yes he did indeed. I took them at different times, to try and rule out any error. Took the last one earlier this morning."

"And?"

Vivian bit her lip. "And I was too excited to look at it on my own." She sat her glass down. "Jay left about six hours ago."

"What'd the others say?"

"Well," she said as she pulled a paper towel from its holder and headed to the bathroom. Stephanie patiently waited as she retrieved them all. Only a few moments passed before she saw Vivian emerge from the hallway and walk through the den. "Here they are." She spread them on the paper towel.

"This one is negative," Stephanie frowned as she picked one up.

"But the rest... "

"Positive!" Stephanie screamed. "Ahh, which one was this morning?"

Vivian held up the corresponding one. "This one." She stared at the test. "It can't be accurate, right?"

"Sometimes they're reliable. The fact there's a negative one makes me wonder. I'm going to set up an appointment for you with my doctor."

"Oh don't, Steph," she said, waving the idea away with a hand. "You don't need to do that."

"But I'm going to," she defiantly stated as she placed the test back down on the paper towel. "Now, what to think for names."

"Steph," Vivian started with a laugh. "Don't. I don't want to get up Jay's hope for anything."

"What if you have a girl this time?" Stephanie continued like she didn't hear her friend. "Will you give her my name as her middle name?"

Vivian watched the wide smile on Stephanie's face and couldn't help but smile herself. "You are something else, you know that?"

"So I've been told," she said as she stood and went over to the sink to wash her hands. Vivian wrapped the plastic sticks back up in the paper towel and placed them in a plastic bag. She just finished washing her own hands and was drying them off when her phone rang.

"Steph, get that for me. I'm going to start making lunch."

"Sure," she said as she sat back on the stool and gingerly picked up Vivian's cell phone. "Hello?"

_"Where's Vivy?"_

"Starting lunch."

_"Tell her I'll be there tonight."_

Stephanie turned to look at Vivian, who had already heard the voice on the other end of the phone. She shook her head to Stephanie, pleading with her eyes for Stephanie to say something – _anything_ – that would make him not come.

"She, uh... she won't be home. They're going to be going with me for a few days."

_"Come on, Steph. Don't play with me. Put Vivian on the phone."_

She raised her eyebrow at the man who so blatantly dismissed her. "I'm sorry," she said with a smirk. "She just stepped out. If you'd like me to take a message for her, I will. If not, then you already know where she'll be. She'll be with me." She ended the call and placed the phone back down with a decent attitude about it.

"Mhm, I know," Vivian said, already guessing what Stephanie was thinking.

"What a nerve. Really, Viv, I don't know how you put up with him."

"He wasn't always like that. I think Jay has him frazzled up."

"Well, he shouldn't have treated you like shit. You wouldn't have went into Jay's arms." Stephanie looked up at her from her own phone she was scrolling through. A very far away look was in her eyes, which caught Stephanie off guard. "Viv, what's wrong?"

Vivian remained quiet as she listened to Stephanie's voice. Gently placing down the cup she was drinking from on the counter top, she slowly turned her head towards Stephanie.

"Jay seems to think that... " She swallowed hard as she looked down into her glass. "That I just want him for sex."

"Why does he think that?"

"Because," she started with a sigh. "I told him that I thought it was wrong to admit we are in fact together. He just wants to know it so bad. He wants to _hear_ it. And for the life of me, I don't understand why." Her fingernails rhythmically tapped on the counter. "He has me. Why act that way?"

"Vivy, he's loved you a long time. It's like getting a drop of water while you're stuck in the hot sands. You know it's there. It's real. And it's only with you for a split second before you feel it sizzle away."

"I know you're right," Vivian exhaled. "And I understand how he feels."

"So, are you going to make it official?" Stephanie asked as she placed her phone down on the counter.

"Would it make him stop thinking that Orton was after me? You know that man sent me flowers on Valentine's day."

"Had them sent here?"

"Mhm, and on the card he asked me out on a date. Jay ripped it in half and threw it out. And now, Jay thinks that I talk to him."

"I know for a fact you don't think twice about that man," Stephanie said with a little laugh. "He'll see though, that you don't bother him. He comes up to you."

"Yeah," Vivian said with a small smile. She knew Stephanie was right. She just hoped Jay would see it soon.


	27. Chapter 27

_Las Vegas – 7:55 PM – Backstage RAW_

Jay sat in catering alongside his best friend when he saw Randy enter the room. The man immediately shot him a look, and Adam instantly felt the tension between his friend and Orton.

"What's going on?" Adam asked, his look bouncing back and forth between the two.

"Nothing," Jay said hoarsely.

"You sure? I've never seen such a look of... of hatred on your face before." Adam slouched back into his chair, crossing his arms across his chest. He continued to watch the hard stares between the two men. "Something's going on. This wouldn't have anything to do with Vivian, would it?"

Jay just looked at him, running a hand over his short hair. "He asked her out."

"Why? She having a kid by him too?"

The look he gave Adam for the jab could have burned him alive. "Watch yourself, Adam. You may not like her for whatever stupid reason your mind harbors, but I love her. I've never said anything bad about anyone you've taken interest in."

Adam leaned over on the table, clasping his hands together. He stared down at the table as he cleared his throat. "So, you two are together now?"

"Yeah. We are. And we're happy."

"That's not what she told me, Reso," came the slick voice. "She agreed to go on a date with me."

"She didn't," Jay replied, standing up. "And you stay the fuck away from her."

"And how you are so sure she really didn't? Were you there?" Orton's calm voice questioned.

"Don't send anything to _my_ house again."

"Oh, _your_ house? Oh, okay," he taunted as he crossed his arms. "Tell me, what makes her so honest now? After all, we know of the fiasco that was a relationship she had with Hardy. What makes her so honest with _you_ now?"

"I was there for her, every single day Jeff wasn't. Don't talk like you know anything about her. All you see is a piece of tail to chase."

"What I see is a sexy, beautiful woman who deserves to be with a better man. And I will give her that chance."

"Leave her alone, Orton," Jay said, shoving Randy hard.

Randy recovered quickly, his arms dropping to his sides, then simply twisted his lips up into a smile.

"Don't, Jay," Adam's voice came as he placed an arm across Jay's chest to stop him from touching Randy again. "He's not worth a suspension."

Jay kept his glare on Randy as he angrily smacked away Adam's arm. "Stay away from her."

With that he walked away. Adam watched his best friend disappear out the room, not caring to look towards Randy. "I may not like her, but if you mess with him, you'll have me to answer to, Orton."

"I'm not scared of him, Copeland," Randy replied watching the door that Jay had left out of, then turned to look at Adam. "Or you."

Adam watched him walk back to the table where Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase waited for him. This was going to end very badly if Randy was telling any ounce of truth. Adam hadn't known of anything of whatever he'd sent to Vivian and Jay's shared home in Connecticut, but if he knew his best friend as well as he believed he did, Randy was just scheming his way into bedding Vivian. Adam also knew that now that Jay had Vivian, Jay would do anything to protect his claim over her.

Adam shook his head, slightly confused at the situation amiss, and followed his friend through the door.

"""""

_Connecticut – 6:29 PM – Shawn's birthday party_

"Well," Stephanie said in a low, calm tone. "I didn't think he'd behave himself with you-know-who around today."

"Tell me about it," Vivian replied as she leaned backwards on the counter, her elbows supporting her as she sat on the stool. "Not a single bark or bite."

"No you didn't just call him a dog," Stephanie chuckled.

Vivian raised her glass to her lips. "I calls them like I sees them." She saw Jay attempt to stand up from the couch. Shawn had been sitting on the floor in front of him, both of them playing with a toy that Shawn had received as a gift. But as soon as Shawn moved over to where Matt was sitting on the ottoman, trying to piece together something Vivian couldn't see, Jay saw his chance to escape all the boxes, paper, toys, and three children that seemed to adore him so much.

"Ladies," he said as he approached them, leaning on the counter space next to Vivian. "So... "

"So, you finally escape the mountain of party you were stashed under?" Vivian asked with a smile on her face.

Jay looked up at her, his forehead wrinkled as he licked his lips. "Luckily. I didn't imagine one kid would get so many gifts."

"You might get a gift yourself, Jay," Stephanie stated. "We went to my doctor yesterday. Results should be in any second now."

"That would be the best gift ever," Jay said as he moved in to kiss Vivian.

Paul, who had been sitting next to Jay on the couch, didn't miss the way Jeff tilted his head. He saw Jeff's nose flare in anger, hoping that Jeff wouldn't do anything. Although he had liked the young man for years, there was something changed in him, and he wasn't the same gentle-spoken man. It was almost as if he'd really become an enigma towards Vivian. He didn't know what it was, but Paul could tell there was something deeply swirling within Jeff.

"""""

Jeff sat back into the loveseat he was in, his head still tilted toward where his soon-to-be ex-wife, her best friend, and her new... _boyfriend..._ were. Boyfriend. The very thought of it made Jeff sick. In his opinion, she might as well of cheated on him with the bastard while he _thought_ they were going to work out their marriage. But apparently, Vivian had other ideas in her mind, and now... now, she might be bearing his child? Call him silly, but all of this was getting to be a bit too much for Jeff's nerves.

He noticed Paul staring at him, but he didn't care. Let Paul stare. Perhaps he'd see the hurt that Vivian was wiping on him. And so blatantly too. She was almost acting like they didn't have years of history together. Like they didn't make love countless times. Or share moments together that she would have _only_ gotten from him. Because let's face it – Jason Reso was nothing like him. He wasn't as exciting, as charismatic, as... _fun_... as he was.

Still, he had to admit that if he had been different towards her, she wouldn't have turned to Jay. At the time, it just seemed so necessary to rough her up a bit... to try and scare her into staying with him. Scare her into staying? Was that what it had really come to? Was she already that long gone into Jay before he had ever started being abusive towards her? All those questions and more lingered in his mind as he heard Matt call his name.

"Jeff?" Matt called out again.

"Hmm?"

"I think we should get going now. That drive back will kick us in the behind, especially if we don't get back before the house show tomorrow."

Paul remained quiet, gently rocking Murphy to sleep. Matt stood from the ottoman that he seemed practically glued down to for the past couple of hours while putting some of Shawn's toys together.

"Yeah, sounds good to me, man. Come here, son."

"You leaving now, dad?"

Vivian watched Shawn hug his father. The sight broke her heart, knowing that Shawn would never get to have his father full-time. It was unbearable to her to even think of the confusion and hurt that was going through his young mind. He had turned seven today, and he was growing up so fast. In her mind, Jeff didn't have much time before Shawn had a true mind of his own. All she could hope for was that Shawn wouldn't write him off as the father that never was. She hoped Shawn didn't blame Jeff, because truth was, it was _her_ fault.

She sighed, looking down into the hand that held her own glass. She knew she thought about it way too much, and the more she thought about it, the more of a reality it became. Perhaps it wouldn't turn out as disastrous as she imagined it to be. Jeff had been a demon toward her for nearly a year, but he was never like that toward Shawn. And for that she was glad.

When she looked up from her glass, Stephanie and Jay had gone to sit with Paul, Matt headed toward the door, and Jeff was coming up to her.

"He wants to come stay with me for the summer."

"Yeah," she said, nodding his head. "That would be fine. It'll be good for you two to spend more time together."

"Really, mom?" Shawn asked as he hugged Vivian around the waist.

"Sure, baby," she said with a smile.

Jeff knelt down in front of his son. "Keep doing good in school. If you don't, you can't visit for as long as you want."

"I'll get all A's. I promise, dad."

"Good, now give me a hug."

Vivian felt the tear roll down her cheek, and she briskly wiped it away as Jeff stood and turned to her.

"I'm glad you and Matt came."

"Glad we came too," came Matt's soft voice. He gave Vivian a hug. "See you all later."

"See you later, buddy," Jeff said to Shawn as he ruffled his hair.

After seeing them to the door, Vivian headed over to the couch to sit next to Stephanie.

"It's going to break him if I am," she said to Stephanie and Paul.

"He'll get over it. I mean, you two couldn't work it out. It happens. Things happen," Paul reassured. "He'll come to his senses eventually."

Shawn lay in her lap and she gently stroked his hair. "And what if he doesn't? What am I supposed to do then?" she asked, lifting her head up, trying to prevent the tears from coming.

"Vivy, don't worry about that," Stephanie said softly as she softly squeezed Vivian's thigh. "We have a million and one things to help you. You know you have back up if you ever need it."

Vivian simply offered them a smile. In her mind, everything about Jeff was churning. He just wasn't himself around her anymore, and she had no idea of any reason. She couldn't quite put her finger on his funky attitude towards her. But she knew it had to be something big in his life. Something big that didn't involve her. Perhaps she should call him up and offer to talk with him. They could probably use some time to talk to each other anyway. Since they both seemed to go their own way within the last year, neither one of them really had any knowledge of what was happening between the two of them.

Solving things with Jeff would be the best way to truly move forward in her life, and the best way for her and Jay to begin their life together.


	28. Chapter 28

_May 2012 – 7:49 AM – Vivian and Jay's home_

With Jay home for a few days due to a change in his programming, he thoroughly enjoyed being around Vivian. The previous day, Jeff had picked up Shawn for their summer month together, and Jay was even more excited to get time with Vivian to himself. He was perched on the windowsill of their bedroom, taking in some fresh morning air when her phone began ringing on her night stand. It didn't phase her at all as she stirred slightly in her sleep, and Jay chuckled as he made it over to pick it up.

"Hello?"

_"Jay? You won't believe this. I got a call from my doctor not ten minutes ago,"_ Stephanie told him. _"Ready for the news?"_

"Yeah," he said with a slight smile. "What's going on? Is Viv okay?"

_"Okay? She's more than okay. She's pregnant!"_

"It was positive?" he nearly choked. He felt his throat go dry, and he sat on the edge of the bed, not even paying attention to her legs. She was knocked out of her sleep as she looked down towards Jay.

"Jay?" she said groggily. "Is everything okay?" He turned his head to stare at her. He stood and knelt beside her on the floor, dropping the phone into the plush comforter. "Jay, what's wrong?"

_"Hello?"_ came Stephanie's voice, and Vivian looked at the phone confused.

"Jay, what's going on?" She went to reach for the abandoned phone, but her hand was intercepted by Jay's hand. He took her hand, placing a soft kiss on top of it, then looked up at her. "Jay, you're scaring me."

_"Vivian?"_

Jay couldn't find the words to say to her, to express how he felt to learn the news. A part of him expected it, with how they seemed to constantly make love since being together, but there was a small part of him that never seemed to believe he'd ever become a father. And have Vivian as his baby's mother just made the dream that much more unrealistic. But here she was, sitting on a bed they shared, carrying his child. His look dropped down to her stomach and he gripped her hand tightly, burying his head into the comforter covering their gift.

Vivian swiftly reached down to grab her phone, Jay gripping at her middle section. "Steph!"

_"You're pregnant, Vivy! I talked to him about fifteen minutes ago, and the results were positive. He should be giving you a call soon."_

"Oh my gosh," she responded, her hand going up to her mouth. "Really?"

_"Yes really! But I just wanted to call and tell you the good news. I'm on my way out the door. What do you say to me stopping by later tonight? We can get something good to eat, sit and talk."_

"Sounds good, Stephie. I'll see you later. Bye." She smiled as she put down her phone, the realized that Jay's head was still laying on her, his face pressed into her lower abdomen. Gently, she smoothed his short blond hair with her fingers. "You're going to be a daddy, Jay," she whispered.

He looked up at her, his blue eyes showing all the excitement and emotions that he just didn't seem to be able to express right now. He leaped up from the floor, pulling her into a hug. "I'll be there for you, just like I was with Shawn. Every single step of the way."

"At least I don't have to hide this from you," she said with a slight laugh that turned into a touch of crying." She pulled back from him, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "When do you go back on the road?"

He shrugged. "Paul told me whenever you go back."

"That would be the day after next." She was interrupted by her phone ringing. "Hello?"

_"Ms. Hardy?"_

"Speaking," she calmly answered. She pulled the phone away from her face a bit. "It's the doctor."

Jay nodded his head, then stood from the bed. He made his way out of the bedroom and down the stairs into a small room which he and Vivian designed to be an office. He had been randomly scrolling through things on the internet when Vivian appeared in the doorway, out of breath.

"Jay! We have to head to hospital. Steph's in labor."

"I'll drive," he said quickly and followed her back up the staircase.

"""""

_Connecticut - 11:27 AM – Hospital_

"Doc said it will be a while," Paul informed her as he heavily sat back down next to her. He looked down the hall where Jay stood at a snack machine.

"Maybe you should eat something. I know how nerve-rattling this is."

"Nah, I'm fine," he reassured Vivian as he waved a hand in the air. "Breakfast is still with me surprisingly."

She smiled at him. Even though this was his third time, he was still just as nervous as the first two girls' birth. Paul and Stephanie had opted to learn the sex of the baby before birth. Vivian was very excited to have a third niece, and while she didn't care if she had another boy or her first girl, she hoped both newborns would be healthy. She lifted her vision from her hands, seeing Jay sit down across from them.

"Candy?" Jay offered the two of them. Paul waved the offer away. Vivian grabbed her favorite, a Snickers bar, and thanked him. "I knew you'd take that." He smiled at her as he sat down in the chair across from the couch she and Paul sat on.

"So," Paul started. "You two are official together now? Officially official?"

"Well, that depends on Vivy," Jay said as he took a bite of his candy bar, his eyebrows raised.

"Me? Thanks for letting me know it's all my decision all of a sudden."

Paul smirked at them. "I must admit, I've always liked you two together. Even when... " He stopped himself before saying anything about Jeff. "Well, you know."

They sat in silence, waiting on some news from the nursing staff. After a while, Paul had stood, nervously pacing around. Vivian was playing with the girls – a decent amount of coloring books, crayons, and colored pencils strewn about the couch. Jay seemed to be furiously text messaging someone, becoming more and more irritated by each new message. She didn't think that Jay even noticed her paying him any mind.

But any thoughts of her asking him what was making him flustered went out of the window when a nurse briskly opened the door.

"Mr. Levesque," she said quickly. "Your wife is beginning to push. She's asking for you."

Paul looked down at Vivian.

"We'll be fine, right girls?" A nod from his oldest daughter confirmed it. "You go ahead."

He nodded, and followed the nurse back into the room where Stephanie would soon give birth. Vivian looked at Jay, the expression on his face almost in a state of shock. She smiled as she looked back to coloring the picture she and Aurora were working on.

"You nervous about your day?" she asked, still coloring.

"Nervous isn't the word." He leaned over the arm of the chair and threw candy wrappers into the trash can. "More like stomach-churning, throat-twisting, brain-wracking day."

"You'll be all right. You made it through Shawn's birth."

"Yeah, but he isn't - " He immediately felt guilty at the simple thought. She looked over at him, her jaw clenching down. Looking down at another piece of candy in his hand, he cleared his throat. "You know, his birth affected me too. I just didn't let you know."

She remained quiet for a moment, gently coloring with her pencil. "You wish he was yours, don't you?"

"Viv, I don't think this the right time - "

"As good as ever," she stubbornly insisted. "You do." She looked up at him, their eyes meeting and she didn't even need him to answer.

"I want to adopt him," he stated with another throat clearing.

She stopped coloring, but didn't want to look at him again. She knew he had wished that Shawn was his. But Jay adopting him would most likely only cause issues. "Jeff probably wouldn't allow that. He _is_ in Shawn's life now." She paused, thinking of only one possibility as to why Jay would want to adopt him.

"What if we were to, you know... "

"You really think that would be wise? With both our separations going on?"

"Me and Denise settled." He threw away another candy wrapper in the trash.

"That was rather fast." She sat up straight, bending back slightly. "My back is killing me."

"Well, she didn't want anything," he continued on telling her about his completed divorce as he threw away more trash. "You need to stop leaning over like that to color."

She agreed with him as she swung her legs out from underneath her, and stood to stretch. "And you need to stop eating so much candy bars. We're going out to dinner tonight, and you know how too much candy makes you sick."

He grinned widely. "Yes, wifey."

"That's not funny, Jay," she snapped as she put some of the coloring tools away.

"Vivy!" Paul's excited voice came from the door that whipped open. Vivian's eyes immediately landed on the new baby girl he cradled in his arms.

"The blue suits you, man," Jay commented at Paul's medical robe attire.

"Brings out my eyes, I think," he joked.

"She's beautiful," Vivian whispered out. She didn't seem to be able to walk as she slowly tip toed her way to the door.

"Oh, you'll have to put on a robe to hold her," Paul said, motioning a nurse to retrieve her one. Vivian quickly put on the items the nurse handed her and grabbed up her niece from Paul's arms. He stepped away from Vivian as she toted the baby back to his wife.

"Beautiful, ain't she?" Jay said as he leaned against the door frame next to Paul.

"Which one are you talking about?" Paul asked, raising his brows, already knowing what Jay meant. "She'll be just as beautiful holding your baby."

Jay looked at him, smiling, then glanced down at his shoes. When he looked back up, Vivian was all he could see. She glowed as she held her newborn niece, gently rocking the baby girl to calm her. He heard Paul talking to his other two girls, taking in the sight as he brought them into the room where they were situating Stephanie to rest. Vivian sat on the couch that was next to Stephanie's bed, Aurora sitting by her side and Murphy standing in front of them, and showed them their baby sister.

Jay made his way to Stephanie's bedside. "She's beautiful, Steph."

"Thanks, Jay," she smiled. She studied him watching Vivian with the girls surrounding her. "You and Vivian will make a pretty baby too."

He chuckled, becoming nervous at the simple thought. He couldn't help but continue to watch Vivian interact with the girls, their happy chattering and gentle touches to the newborn exuded a warmth that he thought he'd never have in his life. He would never deny loving his ex-wife, but she wasn't exactly the type of woman who would give up her body to give him that warmth. That's why he knew they wouldn't work out, even if Vivian wasn't in his life. But she was now, and he'd give anything to keep her.

"""""

They sat at a quiet restaurant, tucked away in a dimly lit corner. Even if people did notice them sitting there, they probably wouldn't be able to see who Jay was. Vivian looked up from her plate, studying his facial expressions.

"Something wrong?" he asked, glancing up at her.

"No," she said placing her fork down. "Are you okay? I noticed you were getting kind of mad earlier in the waiting area."

"Oh, no, that was nothing. Just Adam being Adam, I guess." Hoping she wouldn't inquire anymore about it, he sat back in the booth, taking a sip of his sweet tea. He didn't really want to divulge any of the things Adam was still poking at him with. He knew Adam was wrong anyway.

She studied him for a moment longer before deciding not to say anything else about it. His face told her a lot that he didn't. Something was going on between him and Adam, but she knew that asking him about it wouldn't give her any answers. She made up her mind right then that when they returned to work, she would ask the one person who knew all the rumors going on.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, she was set on enjoying her quiet evening dinner with Jay.


	29. Chapter 29

_**A/N:** These next two are for ILoveAnime89. Thank you for reading and reviewing my story!  
_

_WWE Headquarters – 8:56 AM_

"Viv, we're leaving in about five minutes."

She looked up from the menu request she was reading to see Paul standing halfway inside the office at the door. She nodded her head and stood, gathering up some folders and placing them in her bag. "I'll be right out." She looked back down at the desk before remembering what he wanted to tell him. "Paul!"

He popped back into the doorway, not having gone very far. "Yeah?"

"Will you tell Michaels that I want to talk to him?"

"Sure," he said before his brows furrowed. "What for?"

"Oh, I just wanted to ask him what he wanted me to make for him. I know he likes certain things I make," she covered with a smile.

"I think that he'll eat anything you make, but I'll let him know."

"Thanks." She quickly grabbed up her bag, and headed out after Paul, shutting the door behind her.

"""""

_RAW event – 9:27 PM_

Vivian sat in the office that Stephanie had designated them to share. It was the knock at the door that took her eyes from the book she was reading.

"Come in," she said in a loud voice.

When the door cracked open, a smiling face chewing gum appeared.

"H told me you wanted to talk to me," he said as he made his way in and sat in a chair that was next to the couch she sat on. "What can I do for you?" A wide grin graced his face.

"Well, what you can do," she said, closing the book and sitting up straight. "Is tell me why Jay and Adam seem to be going at it." A smile spread over her face now.

Shawn's facial expression dropped. "What?"

"Don't play with me. I know that you know." She leaned in closer to him. "Spill it, Michaels."

"Well," he drawled out. He looked down at his hands as he stammered. "Last that I heard... but you know, this could be completely untrue... But last I heard... You know, it's not good to gossip," he got out, pointing a finger at her.

"Shawn, if you don't tell me, I'm never going to make you my chicken and biscuits ever again." His ears perked up along with the corners of his lips curling up in a silly grin. She tilted her head up, willing him to tell her. "Fine, no more stuffing either."

"Oh, come on!" he said in a hoarse voice that she couldn't help but laugh at. "Okay! Okay, I give in. I'll tell you." He sighed. "But you have to make me some chicken and biscuits."

"I'll have ten of them hot and ready tomorrow morning," she said quickly before he began.

"Randy's kind of, you know... Spreading... a little rumor about you... and him. Together, and we all know it's not true."

"So, he's saying that me," she tried to clear up, pointing to herself. "And him, are together?"

"Yes," Michaels confirmed. "And – and like I said... We all know it's not true."

"Well, I know that, and you know that. Paul and Steph know that. But if Jay hears it from Randy, it's going to make him flip."

"I understand that Randy sent you flowers?"

"Yeah, for Valentine's. He, uh, asked me out to dinner on the card with it."

"And you didn't accept, right?"

"Of course not," she scoffed. "Jay ripped it up and threw it out."

"So he knows that Randy's trying to, you know, get a go at you."

Vivian sighed, placing her hand on her forehead. "I just don't want it to cause any issues between me and Jay. Like we don't have a mountain to climb over already."

"You mean with the baby on the way? And the divorces? And then you have Shawn spending time with Jeff to tend to as well," Michaels listed off with animated hands.

Her eyes shot to him. "Thanks for the recap," she with another scoff.

"Sorry," he said, ducking his head. "Maybe you should have a little, you know, have a little sit down with Adam. Talk things out." He stood, crouching in front of where she sat, placing a hand on her knee. "I'm going to get going now, but if you ever need anyone to talk to, and to... you know... get stuff out of, I'll be around." Scrunching his face as he talked, he gave her a smile and stood up with some effort.

"Knee still bothering you?"

"Just a bit of rust," he said, rubbing it gingerly. "Literally." He heard her laughter as he left out of the office. Of course, he didn't really believe it was his place to tell Vivian exactly why Adam seemed to have such an intense dislike for her. She needed to find out from him, and better sooner than never if she ever wanted her relationship with Jay to last.

"""""

_October 2001 – 7:45 PM – RAW event_

"Hey, Vivy."

She looked up from arranging trays of food to see the wide-smiling face of Edge. "Hey, how are you tonight?"

"Doing good," he said taking a chicken strip off a tray. "These are really good."

"Thanks," she said and turned back to her work.

"Homemade?"

"Of course," she confirmed with a smile of her own. "Frozen foods would just not bode well with the Superstars, now would it?"

Her gentle laugh seemed to float around him. Watching her as she completed her arrangements, he cleared his throat, nervously raking a hand through his long, blond locks. "So, I'm throwing a birthday party in a week, and I was wondering if you'd like to come."

"Oh, sure. Happy birthday in case I forget." She twirled around to grab an empty platter and tucked it under her arm. "I'm terrible remembering dates."

Following her back to where the kitchen was, he leaned against a display counter. Just being with her these few minutes, he could see why his best friend seemed to be infatuated with her. But she also seemed to be so untouchable. A beautiful lady too busy with work to even have any type of love life. Of course, he was one of those guys who were unable to touch her. How Jay ever became close to her was a complete mystery to him.

Speaking of Jay, he was quickly walking up to where they stood.

"Adam, we're up next." He looked from Adam to where Vivian was moving about in the kitchen. "Hey, sweetie."

Adam stared at him with raised eyebrows. _Sweetie?_

She looked up from the large pans in front of her. "Hey, honey."

"I haven't seen you all night," Jay said to her, leaning against the wall that was next to the display counter.

"Been cooking nearly half the day. Now, I'll be cleaning up half the night," she said with a sarcastic grin on her face.

"Well don't work too hard. We're supposed to be going out later, remember?"

_Going out?_ Adam looked towards Vivian as she answered him.

"Yes, I remember. To that club down the street. Don't worry. All I need is some time after work to shower and get dressed." She came over to where they stood and leaned an arm on top of the display case. "Adam, are you coming?"

"Well, I don't know," he said rubbing a hand on the back of his head. "I don't want to interrupt anything with you two - "

"Oh, no, it's not just us. A few other people are going."

"We're just not going with them," Jay said quickly with a smirk as he slid the big white framed sunglasses he was holding onto his face. "Come on, we're going to be late."

Adam sighed, and pulled down his own sunglasses from where they were perched on top of his head.

"See you guys later," Vivian called out after them.

"""""

_Later that night..._

Dancing was not his strong point, but if it meant he could be close to her, he'd learn every dance they did that night. His hands glided down the sides of her body, the simple white T-shirt she wore and leather pants that hugged her curvy figure almost playing with his mind. She had done her hair in a colorful manner, random strips of it braided or bunched together with what he assumed was temporary hair dye. She didn't change her makeup much from earlier while she was working, instead opting to put this glittery stuff on that made her shine and glow even more than she already did.

Stephanie downed another drink, her hair also done in a similar fashion to Vivian's, and danced her way back to her best friend. Vivian gladly accepted the dance invitation from Stephanie as they twisted around each other. Jay, who sat at a table not from far from where the two danced, couldn't help but stare at them and then notice his own best friend's reaction.

"Look at that," he pointed out to the Hardy brothers who sat around one side of the table.

"Man, why aren't we out there?" Matt whistled out.

"I'll tell you, that girl is insane." Jeff took a sip of the drink he was sliding back and forth between his hands on the table. "I plan to ask her to marry me," he said suddenly, not even noticing the dead-face stare that Jay shot at him.

"Well, 'bout time!" Matt exclaimed, then gulped down the remainder of his own drink. "I was wondering when you two would get hitched."

Jay felt his breath catch in his throat as he turned back around to look at Vivian who was now dancing with Adam again. He didn't even notice Stephanie sit on the end of the semi-circle bench where Matt and Jeff sat.

"Whoo!" she said loudly, fanning herself with her hand. "That girl is crazy!"

Matt chuckled out. "Jeff just said the same thing."

"She is though. Was on her feet all day, cooking no less, and she can still come out and dance like that." She placed down the glass in which she had ordered a simple water with lemon, watching as Vivian and Adam walk over to their table. "Ready to go?"

"More than ready," Adam said breathless.

Vivian leaned her head on Stephanie's shoulder, attempting to take a deep breath. "Super more than ready. I'm so tired now."

Jeff slid out from the bench. "Come on, babe," he said to her as he walked around the table to her.

Jay looked to Adam standing next to where he sat on the outer part of the table, seeing the way Adam's face stiffened up as Jeff wrapped his arms around Vivian and kissed her. Jay was close to her, had even slept with her, but even he couldn't do what he'd seen Jeff do.

"Okay," Stephanie abruptly said, taking the last swig of her water. "Let's go."

Jay grabbed Adam's arm, keeping him from walking away with the group.

"Vivian?" he simply asked.

"I didn't know she was with Jeff," Adam said still in a slight daze of what he saw.

"For a while now. Listen," he sighed. "If you're thinking about getting involved with her, it's not a good idea."

"Why?" Adam asked, shooting a stabbing look at Jay. "Because you want her? I already invited her to come to the party. Now I'm just going to look like an idiot." He angrily raked a hand through his hair.

Jay squinted his eyes. "How long have you had an eye on her?"

He scoffed. "Since before you did. Believe me, Lisa was a second choice." He sat down on the bench, running his hand through his hair again. "I saw how much she was in love with you, and I backed off."

Jay crossed his arms over his chest. "So you assumed like every other person that she was with me."

"Of course I did! Do you even realize how close you guys are?" He stared down at the empty glass Stephanie left sitting on the table.

"Yeah, I realize it," he said, vaguely remembering their night together. "I also realize I have Denise."

Adam glared at Jay. "I think we both know that you'd drop her in a heartbeat if Vivian told you that she'd be with you."

Knowing Adam was completely correct, Jay nodded his head. "That doesn't matter now. Jeff said he was going to propose to her." He finished off the little bit of Coke and rum in his glass before setting it back down on the table. "Come on, let's go."


	30. Chapter 30

_June 2012 – 11:48 PM – RAW event_

He sat in his locker room, pulling on his boots, exhaling deeply as he thought back to that night. He had known that his best friend had a thing for her. Anyone with eyes could see that there was something between the two. But Jeff being thrown into the picture had blindsided him. Not that he particularly cared for either of the Hardy boys, although they considered him a close friend. He even supposed his fling with Amy was just a replacement as well as his failed marriage to his ex-wife. Mentally cursing himself for even liking her at all, he stood and slung his bag over his shoulder. Even if she hadn't been in love with his best friend, like he had told Jay many a times before, once Jeff was in her picture, no one else had a chance.

But he knew they were going through a divorce at the moment. _Still,_ he thought to himself as he walked to the door, yanking it open. _There's no way I'd ever do anything with her now._ No, he couldn't... That was best left to Randy's doing. Adam didn't know how, but Randy seemed to have no problem at all getting any female he wanted. He didn't know whether it was his background, his history with the company and wrestlers within it, or if he just simply had a touch to make the ladies swoon.

"Adam, wait up."

He turned around to see a Shawn Michaels jogging up to walk beside him. "What's up, Shawn? I thought you were leaving with H." He turned away from the man, not wanting him to see the look on his face. He knew Vivian was traveling with them.

"I am, but they wanted me to ask you how you felt about working up to a title shot for Summer Slam?"

They stopped walking as Adam turned to him. "That'd be awesome," he said sticking out his hand for Michaels to shake.

"Good," Michaels agreed, firmly shaking Adam's hand. "See you later."

Michaels watched Adam walk down the corridor, disappearing past a door that closed behind him. He sighed, rubbing his forehead, and began walking back to where his crew was waiting for him to get back in order to leave for the next venue.

"""""

_RAW event – 4:36 PM_

"Well hot damn!"

Vivian bumped her head on the plywood board as she attempted to stand up. She felt Jay's hand land on her backside as she backed out of the cabinet she was ducked down under and stood. "Oreo pooped in the cleaning supply cabinet again." She handed Jay the offending pup as she bent down to give the floor board under the cabinet a final wipe.

"He's getting mighty big. How old is he now?"

"A little over six months," she answered, placing the now dingy-white towel into the bucket of cleaning fluid. "His turds are just about as big as he is."

"Aww, don't hurt his feelings," Jay said, giving Oreo a kissy face. "Cute little fellow."

"You think he's so adorable, then you take him out walking." She tied a plastic bag at the top and shoved it his way. "Put this in the dumpster when you go."

As she washed and dried her hands, her phone started buzzing on the counter top. Checking it, she saw it was a text message from Jeff, and she promptly tossed it back onto the counter. She sighed, placing all the cleaning materials neatly away, and stepped off the bus. She loved the feeling of the warm summer sun soaking into her skin. She was just about to head into the doors leading into the venue when his slick voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Well, if it isn't Vivian... "

She turned around to see his boxy face grinning at her. "What do you want, Orton?"

He clasped his hands together, puckering his lips before speaking. "I want you to stop denying what you feel for me. We both know it's - "

"That it's fabricated by you," she interrupted him. "All the shit you say to me. The shit you sent to my house. I want it to stop." She crossed her arms defiantly across her chest. "Go back home to your wife and daughter."

"Oh, like you went home to your _husband_? Tell me, _Mrs. Hardy_, how is Jeff these days?"

"You son-of-a- "

"Orton!"

Paul's cold, stern voice made Randy twist around, the smirk on his face completely wiped off.

"H, I was just - "

"Just getting your ass back into the building. You have a promo to cut." Paul walked up to where they stood. "You okay?" he asked Vivian, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She nodded, giving him a small smile, as Randy slowly walked backwards away from them.

"What a douche," she said when he finally disappeared into the venue.

"Yeah, he can be sometimes," Paul chuckled as he lead Vivian into the arena with him.

"""""

_Catering – 10:46 PM_

She found a quiet little table away from the busy ones that people were sitting at. She didn't even realize the body that sat down across from her as she scrolled through her phone. The steady tapping of their hand made her vision leave her phone's screen and travel up to the tapper's face.

"Why hello there, Viv," his croaky voice said.

"Hi, Adam," she said stiffly, then turned her attention back to her phone.

"Aww, don't be shy with me, Vivy. I know you're not."

She placed her phone down on the table and folded her hands over it. "What do you want, Adam?" She scoffed, "I don't know what the fuck it is with guys that I don't particularly care for wanting to talk to me all of a sudden."

"Oh, you don't like me? Since when?"

"Since you became a total asshole to me." She picked up her phone again, busying herself with sending a message to Jay. "Go join your asshole-in-arms friend Orton over there. I'm sure you'll have plenty to say to him."

He stared at her, and goddamn it, if she still didn't look as beautiful as ever, even with her being angry at him. He had become less than friendly with her over the years, but he had never really explained why. Truth was, he didn't really know himself. All he really knew was that he now envied his best friend, if for nothing else but the fact that he had this gorgeous woman in his bed. And to make matters worse, he knew Jay wanted to keep her.

Adam knew that if it were Randy having a turn in the sack with her, Randy would have had his fun a few times and then let her go. He knew that Randy wouldn't have gotten himself so deeply involved with Vivian. But as he sat here in front of her, he wasn't so sure that he would have done the same. Sure, he had felt something for her years ago, but those feelings couldn't still be lingering on after so much time... Could they?

"Is there a reason why you're sitting there, mouth agape, staring at me for no apparent reason?"

"No," he said, so obviously staring at the neatly manicured finger of hers at her lips. And oh, those lips... Plump and juicy all on their own.

"Good, then you can take your leave."

"Take his leave, Vivy, that's no way to speak to our dear friend Adam, now is it?"

She looked up to see a smug Randy Orton standing at the end of the table they sat at. He made his way to lean on the table edge beside her. Her heated glare shot up at him.

"Do you mind?" she asked, feeling her temper rising.

"Do _I_ mind? No, I don't mind." He took a seat in a chair next to her. "But what I do mind is you refusing to go out to dinner with me." He placed a hand gently on her chin. "What do you say?"

"I say you get the fuck off her."

Jay's voice came in anger that Vivian had only heard when she was half conscious, laying in a hospital bed with her head wrapped up. He dropped the duffel bag he'd been toting, and jerked Randy's hand away from Vivian. Randy's arm went flying back as he stood up.

"Reso, you better back the fuck down."

"Stay away from her."

"Or what? You going to fight me?"

"Randy, stop causing trouble," Vivian said as she stood from her chair. "Jay, come on, let's go."

"Oh, your woman stopping you from fighting, Reso?" Randy taunted some more.

"That's right, she's _my_ woman. Say it again." Jay stepped up closer to Randy. "And you can also say that she'd never pay you the time of day."

"Jay, come on," Adam said after standing up, walking to where Jay stood and pulling his arm back.

Jay wrenched his arm from Adam's hand. "No, if he wants to fight, let's do it. He doesn't seem to know his place anyway."

"_My place_," Randy started with a strong attitude, "is making sure that some women get the proper man they need." With every word said, Randy inched closer to Jay's face.

Randy and Jay were nose-to-nose with each other, and Vivian was at a loss of what to do. She didn't want Jay to get into any altercation, and she had no idea what was going through either Randy or Adam's minds. She looked over at Adam from where she stood on the side in between Jay and Randy. _Why isn't he trying to stop them more?_

"Jay, let's go," she said quietly, tugging at his arm.

"What? You can't do what you want now?" Randy mocked. "Vivy here tells you what to do now? Can't be a real man anymore?"

"Jay, ignore him," Vivian pleaded with another pull of his arm.

"Go ahead, listen to your _woman_. Let her soothe you tonight, because we all know she won't want to be with such a failure, a loser, for much longer. She's going to find her way to me eventually, and finally be with a _real_ man."

It was a flash to Vivian as Jay's arm flew out of her grasp and his fist landed on Randy's face. He punched Randy several more times as Randy tried ducking his face under his arms in an attempt to evade Jay's hits. Adam tried to pull Jay off him, but not before Vivian saw Paul briskly walk over to them.

"Hey, hey, hey," Paul said as Randy got a second wind and landed a heavy fist on the side of Jay's eye. "Hey! Enough!"

"Enough, H, he started everything!" Randy shouted, his intense stare burning straight into Jay. "You'll hear from my lawyer." He pointed at Jay as Paul shoved him back to the end of the table, knocking over a few chairs in the process.

"I don't need to hear from a goddamn lawyer for me to whoop your fucking ass!" Jay yelled as Vivian held him back. "You keep away from her, you motherfucker, or you'll need more than a fucking lawyer to help your sorry ass out!"

"Motherfuck - "

"Randy!" Paul's stern voice managed to stop him from attempting to reach Jay again. "Calm down. I don't want this getting out. I don't want you to have to drop the title because I'm forced to suspend you for an outside reason."

"Outside reason – H, are you kidding me? You saw him! He provoked me!" He wiped his nose, checking for blood as he looked down at his hand.

Paul stepped back, Michaels coming up to stand next to him, and crossed his arms. "I didn't see anything."

"What?" asked a stunned Randy, his eyes turning into slits and his mouth forming a decent frown.

"Yeah, no, I didn't see anything. Shawn, did you see anything?"

Michaels placed his hands on his hips and popped the gum he was chewing. "No, nothing. I didn't see a thing."

"Good," he said dropping his arms, his facial expression hardening. "Now everyone get to their buses. We have to get on the road."

Randy backed away from the group, huffing as he turned and walked out of the room. Adam watched as Vivian cupped the side of Jay's slightly swollen face, giving it a tender kiss. As Paul and Michaels made their way to the exit door, her eyes shot back to Adam's. He didn't say a word as he ran a hand through his freshly cut hair and made his way to the door, pushing past where Paul and Michaels walked slowly.

"You okay, baby?" Vivian whispered to him after her stare left where Adam disappeared out the exit. What was wrong with him?

"Yeah," Jay's soft voice said. "Yeah, I'm fine." He picked up the bag he dropped and slung it over his shoulder. They headed their way toward the exit door as Paul stopped her.

"Viv," he said, pulling her back a few steps. "I'm going to talk to Randy, but just between me and you, I'm going to see that Jay gets some time off. You know, so you two can have some time together. Things will be stressful with the new baby on the way."

She stopped, pulling herself from Paul's arm that he draped over her shoulder. "You're not going to fire him, are you?"

"No, no," he assured. "Nothing like that. You'll get a break as well."

"Okay," she breathed out. "Sounds nice," Smiling, she nodded, and they headed their way out of the arena.

"""""

She made her way back onto their tour bus, seeing that Jay had plopped down onto the couch. She grabbed an ice pack out of the freezer and sat beside him, placing the frozen pack on the side of his face as gently as she could.

"You don't have to fight like that," she said softly.

He winced as the chill hit his skin. "I'm going to though." After a few moments, he pulled her hand down from his face, taking the ice pack out of her hand. "You're worth every bit of pain, Vivy."

Her thumb gently ran across his lips, and she slowly lowered her lips down to meet them. "Maybe you should get some sleep, baby," she mumbled into his hot lips.

Jay pulled her into a deeper kiss, silencing her words. Laying his back flat against the couch, he pulled her over onto his lap, squeezing her thighs ever so slightly. "Not until I get my treat tonight."

She grinned, pulling off her clothes, and kissed him again.


	31. Chapter 31

_July 2012 – Cameron, North Carolina_

Jeff sat in Matt's backyard, watching Shawn swim in the pool with Shannon. He loved that his son had taken so well to the family that he wasn't around for most of his life. Still, the fact that Vivian was no longer included in this happy picture pained him a bit. He knew from the moment he'd overheard Vivian and Stephanie talking about a possible pregnancy, that he would no longer have her anymore. He knew he was defeated. Jay would get to have with her that he never did... To see her glowing with a swollen belly. He was admittedly envious of the fact that Jay was able to see her pregnant not once, but twice. First time being with his very own son, Shawn.

But Jeff knew he couldn't hold anger. She wasn't the blame for them falling apart the second time around. He couldn't hold her responsible for the insecurities that nearly ate him alive. Just the thought of her being with someone else drove him to the brink of insanity... And the result of that drove her away.

The buzzing of his phone distracted him.

"Hello," he said, throwing his feet back up onto the wooden railing of the deck.

_"Jeff, it's me,"_ came her soft voice. _"I plan to get Shawn within a week or so."_

He paused, adjusting the hat on his head. "Why can't he just stay here all summer? You'll be working anyway."

_"Well,"_ she said as her gentle breathing followed. _"I guess that's okay. Paul was going to give me some time off, but I'm not sure when that will be."_

"Probably when you have the baby," he nonchalantly said. The anger in him by the thought of her having a child by someone else flared up in him.

She was silent for a moment longer before he heard her sigh out, _"Jeff, I think we should talk - "_

"About what? Shit's already done now."

_"About everything,"_ she got out before he could say anything else. _"You're obviously upset at me - "_

"No shit."

_" - and I hate all this passive aggressiveness that's been going on lately. If for anyone else, we should sit and talk it out for Shawn."_

"Why? You want to sit and tell him that his mother doesn't love his father anymore? You want to tell him all the shit that you've done behind my back?"

_"I've done nothing behind your back, Jeff, and you fucking know it. And as hard as it is to believe to you, I was never with Jay until after us."_

"Yeah," he scoffed out, "just the time where you fucked him before that you hid." His voice lowered as he finished his thought. He was too aware of Shawn's ears that might have been listening.

_"You're never going to get over that, are you?"_

"As a matter of fact, no," he admitted. "I'm not. Because you hid something from me, Vivy. I loved you, and your heart was somewhere else before I even had it. You wanna talk about burning paradise, you burned my paradise before I even had a chance to experience it." He felt his teeth grit together, and his rage was the last thing he ever wanted his son to see.

_"Well, I'm sorry, Jeff. Things didn't exactly go how I wanted them to either."_ She sighed out, and Jeff could have sworn she was crying. _"Anyway, I'll be there in a week or so. I'll bring Jeff some more clothes. Maybe we can talk then."_

He ended the call without saying another word to her, and tossed his phone onto the patio table. Sitting up in the patio chair, he leaned his arms on his knees, his head hanging down.

"Daddy!" Shawn's voice broke his thoughts.

"What, son?" he asked, picking Shawn up and sitting him in his lap.

"Uncle Shannon taught me how to dive!"

"Did he now? Well, go practice some more. Daddy's going to get your lunch ready."

"Okay!" The soaking wet boy slid off Jeff's lap, and galloped back to the above deck pool.

Jeff made his way into Matt's home, his mind going a million miles a minute as he opened a cupboard. There was no way he could allow someone else to raise his child. Vivian wasn't asking for anything, but she wasn't going to take the one thing that really mattered to him anymore. He'd already lost her... There was no way he was losing his son.

Thinking, he closed the cupboard and walked into Matt's office, where the older brother had allowed him to store his divorce papers in a filing cabinet. Reading them, the reality of the situation came down hard on him. She had filed for them without even talking to him. Why should he talk to her now? She'd smacked those daunting papers on him out of no where. He knew that all it took was his signature and it would be processed for finalization.

He hesitantly picked up a pen, thinking if this was really the best thing to do. Was there _any_ way to get her back? Was there any chance of her ever being with him again, even with Jay's baby on board now? No... No, he couldn't go back to someone who so obviously has no interest in him at all. He ran a hand through his colored hair, pen to paper... He'd have to go through another championship reign without her. Hastily, he scribbled his signature, exhaling deeply.

He'd have to raise his son with out her too...

"""""

_A week later..._

"Jeff!"

Her voice ran throughout his house. He heard her place a bag down in the kitchen floor, then make her way towards the back door in the kitchen.

"Thought I heard some music," she said as she leaned on the door frame.

He twisted to face her and smiled. "Just painting some. Shawn's over at Matt's."

Nodding her head, she walked to him, her arms crossed over her chest. "I came to talk to you."

He sighed heavily, a paint-smudged hand brushing his hair away from his face. "I don't think we need to anymore, Viv."

"But... " Her mouth parted as she dropped her arms down to her sides. "But, we need to - "

"I already know," he began as he put down the paint brush and wiped his hands on the paint-stained towel in his lap, "that we'll never be together again. And it doesn't even matter who's to blame anymore. You did me wrong in the beginning, and I treated you in ways that I never want to imagine again at the end." He stood up from the crossed-legged position he'd been sitting in to paint. "What I want to do now is make sure that our son is taken care of."

She placed a hand on her chest, rather shocked by his words. On the verge of tears, she nodded again. "I agree."

He put his hands on his hips as he approached her face to face. "Which is why the only thing I'm asking for, is Shawn."

"Jeff, you know I am not going to take your son away from you," she stated, pointing a finger at him. "He should have never spent the time he did away from you."

"I know, which is why I want full custody."

Her posture straightened up, her head tilting slightly to the side. "What?"

"I want him here with me, Viv. My schedule is more relaxed than yours."

"I don't care about schedules!"

"Vivy, calm down," he said, holding his hand out to her. "Just think about it. And you know you can come here whenever you want, maybe take him for a few days."

"Jeff, you're asking me for my son," she said with tight lips.

"He's _my_ son too, Vivian! Or did you fucking forget that when Jay knocked you up?" He lowered his head, inhaling deeply as he instantly regretted his choice of words.

Her eyes were fixed on him intensely. "You're going to hate this child, aren't you? Why, because it's not yours?"

"No," he said, giving her a stern glare. "It's because Jay will get to do something I never was able to." He turned away from her and she followed him back into the house.

"Tell me," she said, crossing her arms again. "I want to hear it. I want to hear from your mouth just how terrible of a wife I was to you."

"He'll see you carry his child, Vivian. He'll be there at the birth of his child," he said, acting as if he didn't even hear her. "Hell, he was there even for _my_ child. Do you have any idea what that's like?"

"Do you have any idea how much it hurt me that you _weren't_ there?"

"Hurt enough that you had the decency to fucking tell me? Please, Viv, don't even play the victim here."

"You're right." She tapped the kitchen counter with her nail. "You're absolutely right, Jeff. You were the victim for five years, and I'm sorry for that. If I could do things differently, I wouldn't have depended on anyone to tell you. I would have done it myself."

"Really," he said almost in a mocking tone. "Would you then seven years later lay down and spread your legs to the very same person who didn't tell me about him?" His expression didn't flicker as he questioned her. "Hmm?"

She looked down at her hands, not even wanting to give into the argument that he seemed to want to get into. She didn't want it to end like this. They had both put each other through pain, although it were different types of pain. She had received physical pain from him, but she knew that the pain of Jeff not even knowing about his son for so many years, was a deeper kind of pain... The kind that couldn't heal within a couple of weeks.

"I signed the papers," he said after a few moment's of silence. "I'll hand them over to you if you agree."

"Fine." She nodded her head, not even knowing what she was really agreeing to. Having Shawn live with his dad was going to be a major adjustment to her, but she knew that it would be great for them to attempt to make up some time that they so regretfully missed out on. Or was she agreeing to the fact that if her divorce from Jeff was finalized, she felt like she could really be with Jay? "I'm going over to Matt's."

Jeff watched her leave out the front door, his eyes following her figure as she glided across the yards.


	32. Chapter 32

_Connecticut – 11:56 AM – The Levesque household_

"I'm so utterly disappointed," Vivian sighed out. "I have Shawn for this month, but Jeff wants to move him down there by the beginning of August so he can start school there."

"Well," Stephanie said as she poured them each a glass of lemon iced tea. "Perhaps it would be good. I mean, Shawn and Jeff did miss out on some important things together. It would be good for him."

"Steph, I won't have my baby boy anymore," she whined out, placing her head on the arm of hers that was resting across the kitchen table she sat at.

"Oh," Stephanie hummed out. "He won't be gone forever. He'll still be your baby, no matter what." She turned around from the kitchen counter she was mixing up their chicken salad at, with the glass bowl in her hands. After gently placing it down on her kitchen table, she sat down. "Besides, you wanted him to sign the papers, right?"

"Yes, I did. I just don't think there's any fixing it now."

"You mean, now that you're having Jay's baby?" Stephanie questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Not just that," she sighed out as she scooped herself some chicken salad onto her plate. "Me and Jeff were broken before we even got a chance to begin our lives together, and I completely blame myself for that."

Stephanie took a bite of her toast. "You know," she said slowly. "Paul told me a few days ago that Jay wants to marry you."

Vivian nearly paused in her actions. "I don't think it would be smart, Steph. I really don't."

"With both of your divorces finalized, you don't have that desire now?" she asked with a swallow.

"To be honest, no." She shook her head, picking through her food with her fork. "I hate to say it, but I don't want to marry Jay. Don't get me wrong, I want to be with him, but marriage is something I just don't want to go through again."

"You'd be happy just being by his side, huh?" she asked taking in a forkful of chicken salad.

Vivian placed down her glass of iced tea after taking a sip. "Very much." She looked over at the kitchen counter as she heard Stephanie's phone buzz around.

"Oh!" Stephanie exclaimed, wiping off her mouth and hands. "That might be Paul. He went out with mom to go shopping for the baby."

Vivian watched as she stood to answer her phone. She adored the fact that even with a new baby, Stephanie still made time for her. She could kick herself as she remembered that Stephanie didn't get a chance to see Shawn for years. Not to even mention that she had not seen Stephanie's girls either. All the things that she ever missed out on plagued her, and it was all her own fault.

She shouldn't have been so dead set on insisting that Jeff didn't want her anymore. But at the time, the argument that she had with Jeff had hit new levels. He was going through something, and she should have been more supportive. Instead, she had turned away from him, hid something that could have saved him earlier. She felt pangs of guilt as she jabbed at her food, listening to Stephanie speak to her mother.

"""""

_May 2004 – 10:57 PM – Cameron, North Carolina_

"Jeff, what's going on?"

"Nothing, baby."

His slurred speech set her on alert. "Why am I getting calls from people saying that you missed the show?"

He rolled over on the floor to sit up against the couch. "It's nothing. I just didn't feel okay."

"Well, did you tell them that?" she asked him as she approached him. "Having people call me wasn't exactly the way I wanted to see how you were doing."

"Vivy babe, I'm fine." He opened his drowsy eyes just enough to see her sit on the arm of the couch. She crossed her arms over her chest and took in a deep breath.

"Tell me what's really going on, Jeff. I mean, you've been in here for days now. You haven't been out. No one has really seen you other than through the window."

"Okay, Viv, okay." With some effort, he managed to slide himself up onto the couch. It was almost painful to watch him pull himself up to sit right, and she knew he was really trying not to slouch back over. "I just had too much to drink, is all."

"Really? That's all?" She licked her lips, smacking them as she spoke again. "I think you're high. In fact, I know you're high. Drinking does not do this to you. As long and as much as you guys drink, it doesn't affect any of you this much."

All he could manage was a grunt before his head tilted backwards. Vivian could tell he was completely out of it. Even if she could think of something to say to him about his obvious state of mind, she knew he wouldn't really remember it anyway. She stood up straight, with a defeated sigh, and turned to look at him.

"What? I'm fine. Don't worry so much, babe."

"They're not going to tolerate no-shows time after time. Not when they're counting on you to help carry the company. They depend on their best talents, Jeff, and for some unknown reason, they've put a lot of their trust into you time and time again."

"Because I delivery what I say," he slurred out, only hearing half of what she said.

"You haven't delivered anything to them except an impromptu main event. You do know that you didn't show up tonight, right?"

He nodded his head, but mumbled something that didn't sound like he quite understood that he missed another show. The front door to his trailer opened, and Vivian turned around to see a concerned Shannon Moore slowly enter the house.

"Is he okay?"

"I think he'll be fine," she sighed out. She walked to where Shannon stood in the small kitchen, and leaned her back against the counter.

"He's worse than I ever thought."

"It's worse than any of you know. Matt doesn't even know."

Shannon nodded, rubbing his fingertips over the stubble on his chin. "Matt's told us that Jeff refused to talk to him many times."

She took in a deep breath and exhaled out, "I just don't know what to do, Shan. I mean, it doesn't even matter which company he's signed to. Neither one seems to be enough to keep him straight." She looked back at his slouched over figure. "There's so much more to him than just being the fucked up wrestler that happens to put asses in seats."

Shannon couldn't help but feel her heartache. They'd all had problems over the years, but Jeff's seemed to be even worse than any of them imagined. He didn't know what Jeff was thinking entirely, as the enigma truthfully hadn't told any of them much. Shannon looked at Vivian's expression... She looked nearly broken.

"Look, I'll stay here tonight. Watch after him. Maybe he'll feel better in the morning."

She looked up at him, a weak smile on her lips. "Thanks, Shan."

"Hey, no problem." He offered her a hug, then walked her to her car.

"""""

_July 2012 – Connecticut – 12:29 PM – The Levesque household_

"You okay?" Stephanie asked her as she sat back down at the kitchen table.

"Huh?" She looked up at Stephanie, who now held their baby girl, Vaughn Evelyn, in her arms. "Oh, yeah... Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about something." Her voice trailed off as she looked down at her nearly empty plate.

"About what?" Stephanie asked as she cooed at Evelyn.

"Oh," she began, fiddling around with a bit of uneaten toast with her fork. "Nothing really." She placed the fork down, thoughtfully putting a hand over her forehead as she spoke. "You know all the issues Jeff had, right?"

Stephanie looked up at Vivian. "Yeah, his usage unfortunately made us let him go twice. Still kind of sad when I think of that, because he has an amazing quality to draw in the audience."

"Do you think... " She drew in a deep breath. "Do you think that I should have stayed with him despite of that?"

"Well, if back then, you could have honestly said to yourself that it was the only issue between you two, then I would think that you would have." She placed Evelyn back into the pretty carrier that Vivian had bought for Aurora when she was born. "But I know it was more than that, so I don't blame you."

She cleared her throat as she rubbed her hands together, realizing they were moist. Stephanie's words to her seemed to fade out, and she was vaguely aware of her surroundings before she felt her body give out on her and her vision turn black.

"Viv?" Stephanie's voice asked with concern. When she saw Vivian's body slump over, she tried her best to catch her before she hit the ground. "Vivian!"


	33. Chapter 33

"What happened?"

"I don't know, Paul! She just fell the fuck out!"

"Okay, okay," he hushed his wife. "Don't panic. I'm going to call Jay, tell him he needs to come back right away. Don't worry, things will be okay." He held up a hand to her. "You two stay here with her."

Vivian lay on the couch, a thin blanket thrown over her body. Stephanie had immediately called Paul, explaining to him what happened, and he and Linda had high-tailed their way back to the house. Linda had Vivian's head propped up on her lap, gently stroking her hair.

"Sweetheart, she'll be fine," Linda quietly said, trying to calm her hysterical daughter.

"I don't know what happened, mom. We were sitting there, eating, then you called, and after we hung up, I went and got Evelyn from her cradle, and Vivian seemed to have zoned out. Nothing was out of ordinary though."

"Did she eat enough?" Linda asked.

"Yeah, she ate just fine."

"This might just be a bit of sickness from the pregnancy," she stated.

"Oh, God." Stephanie nervously sat down, a hand running through her hair. "I hope this doesn't affect her baby. Mom, I wouldn't be able to deal with it if something happened."

"Okay," Paul said as he walked to where his wife sat. "He's going to be back in a few hours. I had Vince send the jet." He knelt in front of Stephanie, taking her hands into his. "Baby, she will be fine. We're going to take her to the hospital, have her checked out. Jay will meet us there."

She shook her head, unsteady breaths making their way out. "O-Okay." Streams of hot tears found their way down her flushed cheeks.

"Don't cry, baby," Paul's comforting voice said. "Go to the bathroom, calm down a bit, wash your face with some cool water." He stood as Linda did.

"Paul, I think I'll stay here with the girls," she said.

"Thanks, mom," Stephanie choked out, the back of her hand up to her mouth, before she made her way to the powder room. The silent crying steadied itself as she leaned over the sink. "How could I let this happen... "

"Steph," Paul said in a low tone. "I know you didn't do it on purpose. Don't beat yourself up." A large hand of his rubbed her back.

"I wasn't paying attention."

He pulled her into a hug, caressing her back. "It will be okay."

"We should – We should get going."

Paul looked at his distraught wife for a moment before leaving her side to go pick up Vivian from the couch. She didn't seem to be able to move from the spot she stood at in the doorway of the powder room as she watched her friend's seemingly lifeless body be carried out the front door by her husband. Taking a few deep breaths, she wiped her eyes free of tears as she followed them out to the car.

"""""

"What happened? What happened?"

Stephanie turned to see Jay scurrying up to them, Vivian looking past where Stephanie sat in the chair next to her bed.

"Baby," Vivian weakly said. "I'm fine. I just fainted."

"Just fainted? Why? What happened?" He hastily pulled a chair up to her bedside, breathing heavily as he grabbed her hand. "You feel okay?"

Vivian smiled at him, gripping his hand tightly. "I feel fine."

Jay was so concerned about looking over Vivian, that he barely heard Paul's comment.

"I think this goes without saying that you'll have your time off now, Viv."

"Definitely, with pay," Stephanie added. "Gosh, I can't believe I didn't see the signs."

"Stephie, it's not your fault." She grabbed Stephanie's hand with her other, giving a gentle squeeze. "I don't even know what happened."

"What did happen?" Jay asked, his eyes still darting over her face.

"We were just having lunch," Vivian said quietly. "I was thinking about something as Steph was talking to her mom, and then I just felt dizzy."

"I caught her just as she fell out of her chair. I called Paul, and they came back from baby shopping, and he put her on the couch."

"And then I woke up here." She offered Jay a smile, knowing that his worry was killing him right about now. "They ran some tests not long before you came in." She looked up to see the doctor walking toward her area with a chart in her hands. "Speaking of which."

"Mrs. Hardy, you're just fine," the woman smiled. "Your results were okay, and your baby is stable. I wouldn't say you have anything to worry about. Although, you are in your second trimester, so I'd advise you to be more cautious."

"Mrs. Reso," Jay said quickly before he placed a hand over Vivian's arm. "But she's okay? Everything's fine?"

"Just fine." She placed Vivian's chart on the foot board of the bed. "If there's anything else you're concerned about, let our staff know." She held out her hand for them each to shake and then made her way back down the hallway.

"Mrs. Reso..." Vivian mused.

"Well you're just as much Mrs. Reso than you are Mrs. Hardy now," he said, feeling his face flush.

Paul held back a laugh as he cleared his throat. "I think we should find out when you'll be allowed out."

"Mr. Levesque," a nurse behind him said. "She'll be good to go just as soon as she signs some papers."

"Oh, good," Vivian sighed out. "I hate hospitals."

"""""

_August 2012 – Cameron, North Carolina_

Vivian placed a hand over her five month bump as she sat on the couch of Matt's home and pulled her son in front of her.

"Are you sure you want to do this, baby? No one's making you decide."

"I'm sure, mom," he nodded.

"Viv, he'll be just fine with us," Matt assured her as he picked the boy up and flipped him over his shoulder. "Right, buddy?"

Shawn laughed as his uncle placed him back onto his feet. "Yes, Uncle Matt! Mom, they're teaching me how to wrestle!"

"Oh dear Lord," Vivian whispered before she stood again. "Well, as long as you're happy. But momma's gonna visit you a whole bunch, okay?" She leaned down to hug him. "Love you, baby."

"I love you too, mom." He hugged around his mom's waist as she stood straight again. But it was a brief moment as he ran off to chase after Matt. She heard their laughter disappear to the upstairs, no doubt going to the room he claimed as his own in his uncle's house.

Her attentions, however, found their way to the backyard, where her ex-husband was talking with a female who she was somewhat familiar with. She opened the sliding door, making her way up to the part of the yard they were standing.

"Hey, Jeff," she said with a hand up to her face to block the sun from her eyes. "Shawn's got all of his things."

"Oh good. I hope he brought more than toys this time."

"Hi, Viv," the woman said to her. "Shawn is such a sweetheart."

"Of course he is." Jeff grinned. "He gets it from me."

"Thanks, Beth. I hope he doesn't cause any of you too much trouble."

"Beth, why don't you go inside and start making that cake we asked for?" Jeff said as he turned to hold her hands.

"Sure thing." She gave him a kiss on the cheek before looking at Vivian. "It's good to see you again, Viv."

"Good to see you too." She waited for Beth to walk inside the house before she closed in the gap between her and Jeff. "She's nice. I like her."

"I like her too." He took his eyes off where Beth disappeared into the house and looked at Vivian's frame. "You look amazing."

She looked down, adjusting her shirt over her baby bump. "Thanks." She really found herself at a lost for words. There was nothing more to say to him. She hesitated before reaching up to place her arms around his neck, giving him a tight hug. She felt content with everything bad that ever happened between them when she felt him hug his arms around her body. This was the Jeff she knew. This was the one she first fell in love with.

"I'll make sure he's taken care of," he whispered. "I promise."

She pulled away from his hug, fighting the tears that threatened to fall. "I know," she sniffed, and turned to walk back down to the house. Remembering something her son had said to her just a few minutes ago, she jerked back around, walking backwards still to the house. "Oh! And make sure he doesn't kill himself with wrestling."

Jeff chuckled to himself, automatically knowing what she was referring to, and started to make his way down the yard to the house.


	34. Chapter 34

_November 2012 – Vivian and Jay's home_

"Hey, happy birthday, Jay."

"Thanks, Stephanie." He returned the hug and placed the car seat he was toting down on the kitchen floor.

"It's supposed to be your birthday, and _you're_ buying gifts?" Paul questioned as he watched Jay pull in a long box from the front porch.

"I told him he didn't have to do all this," Vivian said lightly, raising her eyebrows towards them. "But he insisted. Said that what he wanted for his birthday was to get things for the baby."

"Hey, uh, you guys opt to know what the sex is?"

"No," Jay said quickly as he maneuvered another box into the house. "We wanted it to be a surprise."

Paul stood, helping him with a third box that was the biggest and that still sat at the bottom of the front steps of the house.

"The crib," Vivian answered at Stephanie's questioning look as the two men carried the box into the doorway. "That cherry wood one that I wanted but didn't need."

"If you want it, then you need it," Jay said as he walked backwards, box in hands, leading Paul up to the room that Vivian and Stephanie had decorated for the newcomer.

"One more month," Stephanie smiled at her. "You excited?"

"Sure am. I'm about to pop." She watched the two guys vanish beyond the stairs. "I didn't get this big with Shawn," she said absently, looking down at her protruding tummy.

"Well, he was a little over seven pounds," she said as she held a bottle up to little Evelyn. "Maybe this baby is bigger."

She nodded her head. "You think it's a girl or boy?"

Stephanie smiled widely at her. "I think it's a girl."

"Oh, you're just saying that because you want her to have your middle name," she said with a wave of her hand as she stood.

She stifled the giggle as she placed the bottle on the counter top in order to burp Evelyn. "Really though, the way you're carrying, I say it's a girl. Might just be a superstition, but some of the time, it's right."

"A girl? You really think so?"

"Yeah," she agreed as she watched Vivian reach into a cabinet. "Would you stop at just a boy and a girl?"

"I don't know." She lightly shrugged her shoulders. "It depends if me and Jay want more." She opened the box of crackers before going into the refrigerator for a jar. "You stopping at three?"

"Ohh, I don't know. There's always room for more." She noticed the jar Vivian was struggling to open. "Crackers and pickles?"

"Didn't know they were so good together," she smiled.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Jay's voice asked as he came rushing to aid her. "You shouldn't be doing that. Not after those pains you've been having."

"Pains?" Stephanie asked, very concerned.

"It's just some dull aches. Nothing serious," Vivian answered.

"And you shouldn't be doing anything strenuous," Jay continued. He popped open the jar top.

"What'd you come down for anyway?" She delightfully crunched into a pickle. "I thought you and Paul were putting the crib together."

"We are," Paul said from across the kitchen. "Needed some tools."

"Oh, they're in the garage, man." Jay walked into a hallway that led to a door that connected the garage to the rest of the house. "Vivian will only allow tools to be in here," both Vivian and Stephanie heard him say, along with a snort of laughter from Paul.

"Men," Vivian snorted out herself.

"""""

_Two weeks later..._

"Stephanie?"

"Hello?" she sat up more in her bed, running a hand through her disarrayed hair.

"Steph, I need help."

The way the voice whispered on the other end almost had her scared. "Vivian?" She shook Paul from his slumber. "Paul, wake up. It's Vivian."

"Huh?" Paul rolled over to see his wife fumbling to get out of bed. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," she said hastily pulling on a robe. "I'm going over there. Jay's not home, and she's whispering something on the phone."

"Okay," he said, still unaware of the seriousness of the situation. "I'll be here when you get back."

She watched his head hit the pillow again before she flew down the staircase and out the door. Stephanie swore to everything above her that Vivian's house seemed a hundred miles away as her bare feet connected with the cold pavement.

After what felt like hours, she finally came up to the fence gate that she quickly pushed opened and made her way inside.

"Vivian!"

No answer. Looking around, nothing seemed to be out of order. She glanced up the staircase, trying to notice anything out of the ordinary in the darkness. As she made her way up the stairs, she saw a light emanating from the master bedroom. Realizing it was from the master bathroom, she rushed in to see Vivian slumped against the shower door.

"Viv!" she cried out, kneeling down at her friend's naked form. "Vivian! Talk to me! What happened?" She then noticed the disturbing amount of blood that appeared to be coming from underneath of her body. She cried out again, hating to leave Vivian's side as she rushed back into the bedroom to grab the phone. Frantically she called an ambulance, and the dialed her own house line.

"Hello?" her groggy husband answered.

"Paul, something's happened to Viv. I called 9-1-1, and I'm going with her."

More alert at the tone of his wife's voice now, his voice was more serious. "What's going on?"

"I don't know. She's laying on the bathroom floor with blood coming from somewhere. I'll call you when we get there."

She hung up, quickly packing a bag for Vivian before the ambulance arrived.

"""""

"Jesus, this is going to be the death of me." Jay nervously sat in the waiting room, waiting for one of the nurses that immediately rushed to care for Vivian. "I don't want to keep doing this."

"Hey, man," Paul said to him. "It will be okay. She's in the best hands possible around here."

"Jay," Stephanie's soft voice said as quietly shut the door. "It's going to be an emergency c-section."

Jay's mouth dropped open. "But she's two weeks early!"

Stephanie nodded her head. "I know, honey," she started as she sat next to him, patting his arm, trying her best to soothe him. "It's very common to be a week or so early. Due dates aren't definite. They're just estimates."

"She's a very strong person, Jay. You remember what Shawn's birth was like, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do," he solemnly said, remember the hours of pain she endured.

A light tap on the door broke all their silenced concentration. "Excuse me, Mr. Reso?"

He looked up to see a plump nurse holding a chart. "Yes?"

"Your wife is being stabilized now."

"Is she okay?"

The nurse smiled at him. "She and the baby are doing just fine. You can see her any minute now."

With that, the nurse left back out into the hallway and to the nurse's station.

"Hey, you all hungry? I'll get us some breakfast," Paul said.

_"Where is she?!"_

They all heard the voice that was mixed with confused, anger, and sorrow all at the same time.

_"Ma'am, calm down,"_ they heard a nurse say. _"Who are you looking for?"_

_"My sister. She went into emergency caesarian section earlier this morning."_

Stephanie quickly went out to see Vivian's sister standing at the nurse's station, questioning the nurses that seemed to give her no answers. "Angie!"

"Oh thank God, Stephanie!" She ran to her, giving her a tight hug. "Please fill me in. These nurses know _nothing_," she said with a snap, looking back at the nurses that could offer her no help in her frantic state.

"She's just finished," Stephanie began, taking Angie's hand in hers and leading her into the waiting room. "Nurse said she'll be ready to see shortly."

Exhaling, the worried look on her face seemed to diminish slightly. "So glad she moved back up north again. That drive, I swear to you, seemed to only take twenty minutes. I would have been screwed if she were still in Florida."

"Well, you had some time with Shawn to get to her."

"True," she said, then looked around the room. "Hey Paul."

"Hey, how you doing, sweetheart?" He stood to hug her, then turned to Stephanie. "Breakfast?"

"Anything you think of will be fine," she answered him, watching him nod his head and take off. Sighing, she sat herself back down on the chair next to the door, busying herself with a magazine she wasn't really interested in. "Today is already exciting."

"Too exciting," Jay's quiet voice said as he rubbed his hands nervously.

"Jay? Oh my God, I didn't really believe her. It's you!"

He looked up at Vivian's sister. She was slightly shorter than Vivian, with a thicker build, and her dark hair had been cut short in the back, but remained somewhat longer in the front. She looked completely different than what she looked like when he'd seen her years ago, and my goodness, how she'd grown up so fast.

"Ang," he said softly standing up. He hugged her, not being able to contain the tears that fell. "How are you? I haven't seen you in eons."

"Doing okay," she whispered. "She'll be okay." Tears of her own escaped, but she didn't even realize she was crying until their hug was broken and she felt like she could collapse right on the spot. Jay pulled her back into a hug as he led her to sit down on the couch. "She'll be fine," she repeated, her eyes still blurry with tears.

"Don't faint now, honey," she heard Stephanie say.

She let out a bitter laugh. "At least I'm in the right place."

"Mr. Reso, your wife is ready to see you." The nurse looked them over, noticing their worried faces. "She and your daughter are fine."

Jay felt his breath escape him. "Daughter?"

"Ooh! A baby girl!" Angie squealed. "How exciting! I get another niece!" She squealed again as she stood, Stephanie following closely behind her, as they entered Vivian's room.

Jay sat there for what seemed like an hour to him before Paul came in with bags of food and a tray of drinks.

"Where are the girls?" he questioned the motionless Jay.

"Girls," he repeated. "Girls! Paul, I have a daughter!"

Paul let out a hearty laugh. "Well come on, man. Let's go see her."


	35. Chapter 35

_**A/N:** Sorry for the lack of update lately. Holidays and family issues seem to take over anything else going on. I'm actually trying to wrap this up, but it just doesn't seem to want to die down. Every time I think I have a decent closure, another idea for it pops into my head, and I just have to explore on it a bit. But I sincerely appreciate everyone who reads. I hope you all enjoy._

_Bingobaby, this one's for you. Thank you!_

Her face seemed to be the only one in the room. Her cheeks were flushed, lips were pouting, and she wore a tiny pink hat that warmed her body. It all seemed to go in slow motion for him as he walked over to Vivian, and gingerly took hold of his baby girl.

"Did you guys pick out a name?" Angie asked as she pulled up a chair to sit beside her sister.

"No – "

"Anise," Jay's quiet voice said. "Anise Marie Reso."

Vivian noticed Stephanie's bright smile as she swung her hair from side to side.

"_That_ sounds like an awesome name. So pretty, full of elegant grace – "

She laughed at her best friend. "Okay, Anise Marie sounds beautiful, Jay."

"Girls," Angie began. "I have not been around you all for a very long time, and I'd much appreciate a girl's day in."

"Day in?" Vivian asked as she watched Jay slowly dance around the room with his baby girl.

"Well surely neither one of you will be bouncing in a club any time soon with newborns." Her eyes went back and forth between the two ladies. "Didn't think so," she said when they only giggled. "Besides, a nice calm day lounging around the house with all the women would be very relaxing. Eat all we want, watch whatever we want, and no men around. It will be perfect."

"What are us guys supposed to do then?" Paul said, pretending to sound hurt.

"I'm sure you all can think of something to do," Angie said as Jay came and sat beside her. She cooed over little Anise, gently stroking her forehead. "I think Joe will be coming up and staying a bit."

"Staying? With you?" Stephanie nearly scoffed with a surprised expression.

"Well, what's wrong with that?" Angie asked with a pout. "Just because we fight, argue, and want to beat each other senseless half the time, doesn't mean it will never work."

"No, that's all the reasons why it _should_ never work," Paul laughed out. "I know you've been seeing this guy for a while, but come on, Ang, something's gotta give."

She sat up straight and looked down at the floor. "You're right, Pauly." She looked up at him. "Which is why I fully expect you to find one of your wrestling buddies for me to hook up with." She stood, giving him the wide, bright smile. "I'm going to see if I can find your house, Vivy. Set up a few things."

Stephanie stood, smirking at her husband. "You can follow me, honey."

"Wh-What? I can't, Ang. Ang! Steph!" Paul stammered as he watched the two exit the room.

"Paul, I hope you find a dude that's enough."

"What's that mean?" he frowned.

"We all know Angie don't put up with any senseless shit," Vivian said in a lower voice.

"Baby, when can we go home?" Jay asked her as he sat in the chair that Stephanie had been sitting in.

"As soon as they get the paperwork ready."

Jay nodded, still cradling the little pink bundle of life that he felt so much joy to have. Her eyes that were a shade darker than his blue eyes concentrated on his, and he instantly felt the connection to her. She was his daughter. His flesh, his blood. She gingerly grabbed his thumb, wrapping her tiny hand around it. Vivian silently watched the smile that spread across Jay's face, a smile of her own consuming her heart. She felt like her family was complete now.

"""""

_January 2013 – 6:55 PM – RAW event_

"She's beautiful, Vivian." The brown haired London native cooed over the baby girl. "Can I hold her?"

"Of course," Vivian said as she carefully handed over her baby girl for Layla to hold.

"Vivian, honey, why don't you get yourself something to eat?" Linda proposed. "I know you haven't eaten since early this morning."

Vivian hesitantly looked from Linda to Layla, and back. "You sure?"

"Sure I'm sure. You need to eat. We'll watch the girls."

"Well," she said slowly, biting her lip, her hunger ready to answer for her. "Okay. I'll only take about fifteen minutes or so."

"Oh, take your time, Vivian," Layla said as she continued to coo over baby Anise.

She smiled at the pair, thanking them before starting to make her way toward catering.

"""""

He saw her walk into catering. Even after having a baby some two months ago, she still looked stunning. A touch of bitterness overcame him as continued to eat from his plate of food. She didn't even seem to notice he was there as she went behind the display counter, into the kitchen, and grabbed herself a quick something to eat. She grabbed a bottle of water as she came back out from the kitchen and found a forgotten table. Only a few minutes had passed before he could no longer stand watching her from afar. He just had to approach her. He had to talk with her, even if it were a few bleak minutes worth.

He promptly wiped his mouth as he stood to discard his plate, the boost in his ego growing as he realized her eyes were watching his every move. His chest inflated as he made his way to the table she sat at.

"Hey, Vivian."

Those two simple words made her dislike for the man amplify even more so than it already was. A churning in her stomach becoming obvious to her as he casually pulled out a chair and sat down, crossing his arms over his muscular chest, a smirk on his face, acting as though she'd invited him to sit with her.

"I saw Jay with the new baby girl," he said in such a friendly tone that she could almost forget that he was a malignant tumor in her life. "Congratulations. She's beautiful. What's her name?"

Vivian twisted on the cap to her water bottle as she lifted her head up and answered him. "Anise."

"Anise," he repeated. "Pretty name. I remember when my daughter was born. I didn't think it was possible to love someone that I had just met so much – "

"I'm sorry, Randy, I don't seem to have remember asking you to come over and talk to me like I don't despise the very thought of you."

He unfolded his arms, leaning over the table as he clasped his hands together. "Why do you hate me so, Vivian? I mean, really, what have I ever done so wrong to you?"

"I was perfectly fine with you before you decided it was your God-given right to demand every woman you see to lay back and spread her legs for you."

"Even before that, you seemed to have an issue with me, and I'll be honest, Vivy, I just don't understand it." The smirk never left his face as he spoke, and that alone made this whole conversation revolting to her. He looked at the ceiling like it was something interesting to behold as he continued to speak. "I would like to understand," he said, his glare coming back down to her with a vengeance, "what exactly it is that you don't like about me."

She crumpled up the tin foil that her sandwich had been wrapped in. "You want the truth?"

"Yes, I'd like the truth, please, if you don't mind."

"I thought you were a smartass, shriveled dick, young prick who thought that just because his daddy had made some leeway in an industry, that meant he could come up and pretend like he ran the place."

"Honey, there was no pretending – "

She stood, holding out her hand to stop him from speaking. "And now I see that all that's changed in you over the years is the fact that you're not young anymore." She picked up her water and ball of trash before tossing her head to the side, making her silky smooth locks whip over to one side, and putting on a bright smile. "Have a good night, Randy."

He sat there dumbfounded as he watched her exit the room. Had a woman really turned him down? Him, the Legend Killer... He didn't seem to know how to react. Should he just take it as a loss? No... He didn't do losses. He didn't accept defeat. She was a very rare one indeed. He sat there for a few moments, chuckling to himself as he crossed his arms over his chest again. She was the only one strong enough to endure all he threw at her, and then some.

"What's so funny?"

Randy looked up, the laughter still evident on his face as he saw John. "She turned me down."

"Again?" Cena asked as he sat down across from Randy. "How many times is this now? You act like it's a surprise."

"Honestly, John," he said, absentmindedly rubbing the stubble on his chin. "It is."

John grinned at him, knowing full well how much of a ladies man his friend was. "Win some, lose some," he simply said as he took a swing of sports drink from a bottle. "Come on, man, we have to get ready."

"""""

_Connecticut – Vivian and Jay's home_

"He asked you why?" Paul asked her as he balanced both of his older daughters on either of his knees.

Angie giggled as she tossed a towel over her shoulder, preparing to burp her niece. "Did you tell him it was because he's a big, huge, pompous, stretched out ass – "

"Kids," Paul said lightly. "Kids, kids... "

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, a smile twisting up the corner of her mouth. "A butthole," she finished bluntly as she gently patted baby Anise on the back. Vivian couldn't help the smile of her own as she looked on at her younger sister.

"It doesn't matter what I've ever thought of him now, I think he's finally got the message."

Angie stood, gingerly handing Anise to Vivian. "It's late, Vivy. I need to get back to the hotel before Joe strokes the hell out."

"Has that been him making your phone go off every two minutes?" Stephanie asked as she burped her own baby girl, Evelyn.

"Sure has been," Angie sighed out, slightly irritated at the man she called a boyfriend. "I'll be going. I'll see you's all later." She looked behind her as she made her way to the door. "Love you's."

"Bye, Angie!" both Stephanie and Vivian called out as she left out the door.

Paul shook his head, slinking back into the couch as his girls dropped themselves to play on the floor. "That girl is something else."

"Have you found her someone yet?"

"What? Steph, no. I don't even wanna find that girl anyone." He realized Vivian was holding in laughter. "You know, I fail to find what's so funny in that. I mean, she's hell on wheels, and I don't think I know anyone who's up to that challenge. Ever."

Stephanie let out a small laugh as she moved, Evelyn cradled in her arms, to sit next to her husband. "Vivy, I'll be giving Jay some time off for a few weeks, and then he'll have some summer time off."

"Awesome," Vivian said as she placed a cooing Anise on the couch in front of her. "That will give daddy some time to spend with his baby girl, right honey?"

Paul watched as Vivian gently tapped on Anise's tiny nose, his heart warming at the sight of it. He really hadn't gotten the chance to see her raise Shawn. He knew he missed out on all the important things that an uncle should be able to do with his nephew. But he also knew that she had her reasons, and so he never wanted to make her feel guilty. He was happy that she finally settled down with someone who could make her world secure.

"Why don't we go back on home now, Paul? The girls need to be in bed."

"Oh, sure, sweetie." He placed his girls down and stood, going over to Vivian to give her a kiss on the cheek. "You need anything before we go?"

"No," she quickly said before receiving a kiss from Stephanie. "You all go on ahead." Each of her nieces hugged her. "You'll be back over tomorrow, right girls?"

"Yes, Aunt Vivy," Aurora answered with a sleepy smile.

"I'll bring the girls over some time late morning," Stephanie informed her. "I have to go handle some things with mom, and then we'll bring some lunch back with us."

"Okay," Vivian agreed, nodding her head. "Good night, love you all."

As they both said their good nights and made their way out the door, Vivian's cell phone rang. She answered it without looking at the caller ID as she carried Anise to her crib.

_"Can I offer you out to dinner?"_ the male voice shot out before she could even get the chance to greet it.

"Randy, how did you get my number? And why are calling it?"

_"It's not a date. It's not a fling. I'm just offering an apology to you over the way I've been acting. Just think of it as a meal between friends."_

She knew he had that ever-present smirk on his face, and it just made her want to crumble her phone into dust. "I'm putting my daughter to bed now," she said calmly. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't call me anymore."

Before he said anything else, she ended the call with a slide of her thumb. The nerve of him! Thinking he could just call her up – knowing that Jay was not around her, as they both were working the same show. She had been feeling tired enough to sleep, but thanks to him, her nervous jitters crept up on her once again. Making her way back downstairs to the kitchen, she started to prepare herself a hot cup of honey tea.


	36. Chapter 36

Their lips clashed, and he was so thankful for this moment. He only had a couple of days alone with her until his time off, so he was going to make the most of it right now. He grunted in pleasure as he felt her soft hands run over the back of his short hair. He never wanted this moment to end. The heat building inside of him felt like it could steam out of him. Her touches were overwhelming, and he was relived he could finally lay her down for the first time after giving birth.

Feeling her warm, supple body underneath him could have very well been the greatest moment he'd had since their daughter's birth. Hearing her call his name as he gently rocked inside of her pushed his senses into overdrive. He felt like he had exploded into a million tiny pieces, but when he looked down at her golden eyes, she just pulled him all back together again.

"Vivy," he breathed out, not wanting to move from off top of her. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, honey," she whispered.

"I've been – I've been wanting to do this since the day we met," he started, his lips hovering over hers. "And I'd wait another ten decades just to even have this chance."

Her brows furrowed together in confusion. "Baby, what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about us," he said. "Me, you, Anise... The family that I've always hoped to have with you." He took a moment to run his fingers down her soft, smooth hair as he kissed the side of her neck. "And I never want us to be apart again." He brushed over her lips. "Vivy, will you marry me?"

Her hand caressed the side of his face. "Of course I will, Jay."

"Really?" he asked, shifting himself off her and bringing her body close to his and holding her tight. "I thought you would have said no."

Lifting her head up, she look at him. "Why would I say no?"

"Well because of... Well, you know."

"Right," she said, tapping him on the chest. She sighed out, wrapping the sheet around her chest. "Anyway, the next pay-per-view, you're going to have some time off?"

"Yeah," he said, bringing her back into a tight hug. "Going with the whole injury thing."

"Good, it will be nice to have you home," she said before her phone started vibrating on the nightstand. Sitting up, she reached over and answered it.

Jay flung the sheet off him and headed into the bathroom. It wasn't long before he heard Vivian screaming.

"What do you mean he's hurt?! Jeff! What happened?!" She stood from the bed, sheet falling from her naked form, and immediately dressed. "Jay, I have to go to Cameron."

"Whoa, what happened?" Jay asked her, taking the phone from her hand as she nearly collided with him on her way into the bathroom. "Calm down, babe. What's going on?"

"You know how Shawn wanted them to teach him how to wrestle?" she asked, nearly out of breath as she hustled her way around the bathroom. "Well, apparently, when they were on the trampoline, he landed wrong, and now he's in the hospital."

"Let's go then," Jay said as he moved to dress.

"No, stay here. I'll go. I'll tell Steph where I'm at in the morning."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Please," she said, her voice becoming quiet. "I'd like it if you stayed with Anise."

He simply nodded his head, understanding how worried she was about her child. He didn't like it that she'd be around Jeff, but he'd suffer through it for her. Besides, he knew she'd never go back to him now. She was officially his, and he knew no one could break that.

"""""

Jeff sat in the emergency room waiting area, anxious for those doors to slide open and see her. He didn't know how he could let this happen. Sure, Shawn had been hurt in minor ways... It was normal. He was a kid, and a boy at that. But this... He didn't know how he would explain this to his son's mother. How _could_ he possibly explain an injury that bad. And to make matters worse, he hadn't even been the one training him when it happened.

But it didn't matter who was actually physically there when he'd become injured. It was all his shoulders. He couldn't blame any of the guys for it. Even if he wouldn't feel bad. Even if an anger washed over him... It wouldn't be right. None of them wanted this to happen, nor expected it. Jeff looked over at his brother and two of his closest friends, each of them losing out on needed sleep and rest to be there with him. Just as he couldn't take it anymore and stood to start pacing down the corridor again, those plexiglass doors slid open.

"Vivian," he began.

"Where is he?" She pushed him out of the way, immediately going over to the intake window. "Excuse me, ma'am?"

"Viv, let me explain," he tried again.

She simply held out her hand to him, making it clear that she didn't want to hear a word from him. She quickly spoke to the intake nurse, with another one on her way out to lead her to her son, then turned to her ex-husband. Her black ice glare could have frozen him over and shattered him.

"You promised me you'd make sure he'd never be hurt." She glanced at the nurse who waved her over. "You _promised_ me."

"""""

"How's he doing?" Jay asked her as she placed a cool rag over Shawn's forehead.

"Doing much better. Fever's gone down a bit."

"Did he tell you what happened?"

She nodded her head. "When I finally let him." She blew out an exhausted breath. "I didn't even want to see his face for the longest time."

Jay sat on the edge of Shawn's bed. "I'm sure he didn't mean it."

"I know he didn't," she admitted, nodding her head again. "He, um, flipped off the trampoline, which he's done a thousand times. I've seen him flip off of it myself." She stood, clearing away his lunch tray. Jay followed her as she explained, offering to take the tray from her hands as they stepped down the stairs to the kitchen. "But apparently, his foot tripped it and he landed on his arm on both the edge of the trampoline and on the ground once he bounced off the edge."

"Ouch," Jay commented, wincing at the idea of it all. "I'm surprised it's not broken. But he seems like he'll be fine."

"I'm sure he will be. That's one resilient little boy." She washed off the dishes and dried her hands, making her way back to where Jay sat at the kitchen island. "He loves Anise too. He'll want to play with her all the time."

"Mhm," Jay agreed. "They'll be playing all the days." He was absentmindedly scrolling through her phone, when his eyes landed on a certain name. Vivian had turned around to the fridge when he asked about it.

"What is what?" she questioned, half confused and half not paying attention.

"Randy called you?"

"Yeah, a few days before you were home the last time."

Jay could feel himself become hot with a touch of anger. "What did he say?"

"Offered to take me out to dinner." Looking over at Jay, she saw the flash of rage in him. "As a friendly gesture, you know, to apologize for being a total jackass." She spun away from the fridge with the items she needed to start early on their dinner. "Honey, you can see the call only lasted all of a minute. It's not like I had some long, drawn out sexy conversation with him. He asked, I said no, and that was it."

He looked at her through narrowed eyes. Let him find out that Randy wants anything more to do with Vivian, and he'd end Orton. The man didn't even seem to care she now had a baby to take care of... Not to mention that she made it obvious to him that she was just not interested in him. He was still going to pursue her?

"Don't look at me like that," she said to him as she worked on heating up the burners she needed on the stove.

"How do you even know I'm looking at you?" he questioned, placing her phone down on the counter.

"I can feel it. It's like a snail crawling on my back, inching up towards my brain to suck it out of my skull." Turning to get a few pots and a pan, she smiled at him. "I know you, Jay."

"Oh, really?" He stood, approaching her. "Then you know I'm going to do this." He took the pan from her hand, tossing it carelessly down on the stove, and grabbed her up by the waist. Pulling her closely to his body, he kissed her, exploring her mouth with his tongue.

"Jay," she sputtered out. "Jay, stop it! I need to start on this dinner!"

"That can wait," he hoarsely said, not wanting her mouth to be pulled away from his.

"""""

She woke with a start. Glancing at the nightstand clock, she saw it was close to six in the morning. Was that her phone going off at this ungodly hour? Groaning, she reached over, her fingertips fumbling around in the darkness.

"Hello?" she answered groggily. "Dixie? Yeah, no, it's okay. What? What's going on?" She sat up, pulling the old shirt she had worn to bed straight around her neck. "He missed the show last night?" _Not again._ "Okay, no, I'll be down. Let me get my kids settled and I'll be right there."

"What's going on?" Jay asked, not even half awake, his face still smashed into his pillow.

"That was, um... " She tried to get her thoughts straight as she ran her hand through her hair, shifting it over to one side. "Dixie," she completed. "She said she was having some issues with Jeff again, and wanted to have some sort of meeting with me. I honestly don't know what's going on."

Jay's eyes opened, and Vivian could tell he knew what it was.

I think we both know," he plainly stated. "He can't have Shawn until he kicks that shit."

"Well, nice to know that you can tell us what to do with our son," she mumbled as she got out of bed. She ignored the look in his eyes and the grunt he made. "I have to go to Florida."

"I'm coming with you this time."

"Jay, you can't. I can't leave Anise _and_ Shawn with Steph and Paul this time. They have enough to care for without me adding to it."

"Viv, you can't keep telling me to stay back and watch shit go down without me by your side." He sat up in the bed, rubbing a hand over his sleepy face. "It's impossible for me to just sit here and let you go through things by yourself."

"You are by my side," she said as she took out some clothes. "Jay, I know you're worried, but you know me. I don't need my hand to be held. I just need someone to back my up."

"Right," he said lowly as he slid back down into the bed. "And I've always been the back up."

"You know what I meant," she said in a hard tone. "Anyway, I'm going to take a shower, and then make my way down. Can I count on you?"

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled before rolling back over, pulling the comforter over his shoulders.

"""""

Vivian listened carefully to everything they were discussing. She was thoroughly disgusted with Jeff's actions, but not for the reason she'd been so many years ago. Well, not so much anyway. Jitters ate away at her nerves, and the very clothes she wore seemed to crawl on her skin at the pure anger that raged through her. How long had he been doing this? Jay was right... She'd make sure he wouldn't have Shawn as long as he still indulged in this stuff. It's as if he didn't realize how much of his life it tore apart.

"Vivian, I know you've split from him, but could you possibly – "

"Talk to him?" Vivian finished. "Dixie, believe me, if he listened to me, he would have straightened out a long time ago. Getting that man to stop doing something he doesn't see as a problem is a problem in itself." She held onto her shaking leg, willing it to stop moving. She knew they could see the anger boiling in her, but she didn't care. She just wanted to get her nerves in control so she wouldn't snap when Jeff finally did decide to stroll up into the meeting.

And she didn't have to wait very long before the door to the conference room slowly opened. The background noise of the few other folks in the room faded as he entered the room. Then the room quieted completely as he approached the table, wisely going to the most opposite side of the table from his ex-wife. There was no mistaking the golden fire burning in those eyes, and he'd had enough of that ever since Shawn's accident.

"Jeff, we called you in because – "

"Yeah, you better sit over there," Vivian cut off whoever was talking. Right about now, she could care less who was in the room and whatever other reasons they had for calling this meeting. "How dare you do that shit in front of my son."

"Vivy, I didn't – "

"Stop talking, I'm mad," she snapped. "How many more times are we going to do this shit? Ten years ago, it should have fucking stopped. Ten years ago before you had a child. If you wanted to keep doing it, why did you even bother starting a family?"

He had nothing to say to her. No answers for her. No explanation nor reason why. It didn't help that the nervous pit in his stomach was threatening to projectile its way up his esophagus as he watched Vivian uncross her jean-clad legs and stand up from the chair she was sitting in. She walked over to him in the longest strides he'd ever seen her take, her long leather coat flailing behind her. He stood, kicking his backpack underneath his chair.

"Viv, I didn't want this to happen."

"Shut up and sit down. I said I'm mad." The manicured finger she merely pointed at him didn't even have to touch him for him to feel the lightening bolt that could have shot from it. He immediately plopped back down onto the chair. "What sorry ass, poor excuse do you have now? You're doing your shit in front of my child, Jeff. He didn't know you for years, and now that he has the time to know you, you push him aside for this? You've really lost your goddamn mind, haven't you?"

"I don't push him aside, Vivy."

"Oh, and what do you do? Is he sitting right there while you do it? Because if he has seen anything, Jeff, I swear 'fore God, I will end you."

"Viv... "

"I'll end you in ways that no wrestling company, that no legal company, could ever do to you." She swiftly walked back over to the chair she had taken when she'd first arrived, grabbing up her bag. "I promise you, Jeff." She turned to the company's president, offering her hand. "Dixie, honey, we have to go out to lunch one day."

"I'd love to," she replied with a gentle smile, holding onto Vivian's hand and gingerly squeezing it. She watched Vivian turn on her high heeled boots and exit the conference room.

"What the hell did we just witness?" one of the guys asked.

Jeff could only look at them, running his hands through his freshly cut, short hair. "My ex-wife owning my ass."


	37. Chapter 37

**_A/N:_**_ And back with a chapter of this one. Thank you to those who have read, followed, or reviewed. I much appreciate it, and I hope you all continue to enjoy._

_North Carolina – 11:32 AM – Matt's house_

"Let me explain, Viv!"

"No!" she stubbornly said. "I don't even want to hear it, Jeff. For years, it's all been nothing but bullshit from you." She buzzed around the room in Matt's house designated for Shawn.

"For years?" he repeated with an heated fury. "And what? You got sick of it? Hid my kid from me and ran to Jay?"

"Oh, please," she said with an exasperated sigh. "I refuse to take the blame for it anymore, when truth be told, had you gave a shit about anything other than your next high, you would have contacted me."

"You wouldn't even talk to me! How was I going to do that when I couldn't even get a chance to see you?" He watched her pick up toys, dusting as she went.

"Jeff, I'm just so done with it all." She waved her arm around to make her point. "It wasn't fair for me from the start, and had I fucking known – "

"You what?" he interrupted. "Would have never been with me? Would have never married me? Tell me all the fuck ups _I've_ done to you, while you've done nothing to me."

She pointed a finger at him, more anger surging through her. "Don't you fucking dare turn this around on me. You know exactly why I'm mad. You know exactly why I don't want to deal with your bullshit anymore. And you know _exactly_ why I'm not trusting you with my son anymore."

"He's my son too, Viv, and I'll be damned if you even think you're going to take him away from me." He turned from her, a hand running through his hair. "I can't believe this shit."

"Why can't you?" she snapped out. "You're not satisfied fucking up your own life, you have to fuck up our son's too?" She wiped off the final piece of furniture, and quickly left out the room.

Their son... Nothing had been theirs in a long time. Even the home that he'd bought for her that she loved so much... They hadn't shared a vehicle. Hadn't shared a quiet night together. Nothing. And he had to admit, most of the negativity in their relationship had come from him. There was a reason why she felt the need to hide her pregnancy with Shawn from him. He just never found out why.

He took a deep breath, calling out to her as she dashed down the stairs. "Viv, come here."

"No," she spat out, not even bothering to look up at him from the bottom of the steps. She mumbled something about Matt before disappearing into the kitchen.

He didn't want to follow her. He thought this was all over. But here she was, doing the very thing he didn't want. She'd already stated that Shawn would be with her until further notice, and that's how their arguing began.

"Viv, just talk to me," he repeated for the tenth time in the hour or so she'd been there. "Talk to me, goddamn it!"

"About what?!" she screamed out, snapping her glare up to him as she organized belongings. "About how I have to be dragged to wherever the fuck you are to straighten out shit messes that you make!" She took a deep breath before continuing on with her rant. "With Shawn, with Dixie, with Matt... With fucking everything you do!"

"Oh please, Viv! You're one of my fucking messes!" he shot back before realizing that he was even speaking. "You haven't even been here!"

She was silent for a moment, her darkened eyes scanning him over, studying his face. When she did finally speak again, her voice was something that Jeff was almost scared to hear. It was weary, shaky, and calm all at the same time.

"How dare you even think I'm a mess," she simply said. "Our entire marriage was based off a lie I had about you. A lie that I was hoping would melt away so I could have you as a husband. But I see now that lie became your reality, and the fact that you dare part your lips to say that _I'm_ the mess, is completely laughable to me."

She was silent again, Jeff just watching her zip up the tote bags. Slinging the bags over her shoulder, she muttered something about Shawn and seeing him soon, but he wasn't really paying attention to her as she disappeared out of the front door. He sat himself at the kitchen table, head in hands, thinking over her words.

"""""

"Sorry about all that, Matt," she apologized again to the eldest brother. He shook his head, holding up his hand.

"It's all good," he said with a smile. "No need to apologize. I'm sorry it happened at all. Shawn needs him more than ever now."

As much as he wanted to be on his brother's side, he just couldn't be. In all the years Vivian was his sister-in-law, not one time did she ever do anything wrong to him. Sure, he didn't particularly agree with the seemingly too close of a friendship she had with Jay, but there was nothing wrong with having a close friend. In fact, in all those years, she'd become close with Shannon and Shane just as well. Matt knew there were things he didn't know about, but in his view, he didn't need to know any of it to know that Vivian was in the least, a decent person.

He looked up at her, seeing the absolute worry on her face. If he were being completely honest with the situation here, he'd have to admit that Jeff probably brought this all on himself. Unlike Jeff, he paid close attention to her years ago, and her reaction to his issues. She tried to help him – she really did – but there's only so much a person can do. Jeff never really saw his using as a problem. He always told everyone that he could just stop if he wanted to. And that's what Vivian never understood, and when she confided in Matt that she didn't get _why_ he couldn't stop for her, it all made sense to Matt as to why she just left.

And now here she was, sitting across from him at the patio table, drowning herself in her own thoughts. She just didn't know _why_. Why did he have to put that in front of her? In front of the family she tried to build with him... It just didn't make an ounce of sense to her, not back then, and not now. Matt knew though, that there was never any room for her in Jeff's life while he was on his own cloud. He'd painfully witnessed her for a few years make every excuse in the book as to why she didn't have her husband. Oh, he's traveling... Oh, he's working... Oh, he's so concentrated in wrestling...

Matt watched her as he lit a cigarette to puff on.

"You know, it's at times like this where I wish you at least smoked," he commented. His words must have startled her, because she looked up at him like she had forgotten where she was. That's when it hit Matt. She looked so lost.

But she just gave him a small smile, then turned her head to look back down at her feet.

"That would just be another problem I have," she said quietly.

Matt cleared his throat, thinking of anything else to say to keep her talking to him.

"So, I heard you and Jay are getting married?"

"Yeah," she said, sitting up a bit straighter. "He asked me about a week ago."

"Well, that's nice. I think you guys go together. Marrying your best friend can be a good thing."

Her lips tilted up. "Thanks. Thought I had done that the first time around, but I guess not."

"You're marrying Jay now?"

His voice nearly made her jump as she turned around to see Jeff emerge from the sliding door.

"Jeff, I think it's nice."

"You think it's nice that she's marrying the guy she was fucking before me?"

"It's none of your concern, Jeff," she scoffed as she turned back around, her back facing him.

"The fuck it isn't when you have my son!"

"Calm down, Jeff," Matt started.

"How the fuck are you going to tell me to calm down? Whose side are you on anyway?"

"And what's it matter to you?" Vivian asked Jeff as she stood from the table. "We're not together anymore, and you have someone. So pay attention to her. I can only imagine the bullshit she has to put up with now dealing with you." She pushed past him towards where her car was parked around the side of the house. Jeff followed her down off the porch.

"How can you drop a bomb on me like that and leave?" He grabbed her wrist a split second before she was able to open her car door. "You're not going anywhere until we talk."

"I have nothing more to say to you," she spat out as she tried wrenching her arm free. "We've done all the talking in the world, and it's gotten me absolutely no where with your dumb shit. Get off me. I'm leaving."

"No," he said stubbornly.

"Jeff, let her go," Matt put in from where he stood at the top step of the porch.

"Stay out of it, Matt," Jeff warned.

"I'm not staying out of it," Matt started as he walked down the steps, "when you feel the need to grab her. She's not a rag doll. Let her go."

"I can't believe you're on her side, man!" He pulled Vivian away from her car, throwing her body to the ground between them and Matt. "That just makes me think you were fucking her too!"

"Jeff!" Matt shouted, as he knelt beside Vivian.

"What's going on here?" Shannon's voice asked as he walked around to the side where they were. Shane wasn't too far behind him, looking on as well. They watched as Matt quickly pulled Vivian back up to her feet, then turned their looks to Jeff.

"Oh you all just take her side. I don't give a fuck. She's got guys wrapped around her finger anyway. I should have seen it from the start."

"You okay, Vivy?" Shannon asked her as she brushed herself free of grass bits.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Someone just decided to get crazy."

"I've been crazy. Ten years ago when I asked you to marry me," Jeff shouted. "But go on. Go on with Jay and your daughter. Have the family that I couldn't fucking give you." He made his way past the group back up to the sliding door. "You both are just fucking perfect for each other," he said in a low tone before stepping back into the house and slamming the door closed.


	38. Chapter 38

_Connecticut – 1:27 PM – WWE Headquarters_

"I totally need a break," she sighed out as she slumped into one of the leather chairs surrounding the conference table. Stephanie looked at her, a smile on her face, completely unaware of the situation between Vivian and Jeff a few days ago. And Vivian had planned to keep it that way.

"Paul said something last night about a vacation. We could make it into a family one."

"Someone say vacation?" Jay said as he shuffled the baby carrier that cradled Anise into the doorway. He set the carrier down, and Stephanie swiftly made her way to it to cuddle her niece.

"Well," Stephanie began as she cradled Anise in the nook of her arm and took a seat next to Vivian. "Dad told Paul about wanting to go out on the yacht for a bit."

"Sounds nice," Vivian said, placing her chin in her hand. She looked up again at the door opening again, this time, Paul himself walking in.

"Hey, honey," Stephanie said as Paul laid some folders down on the conference table. He then looked at the baby tucked away in his wife's arms.

"That's certainly not my daughter," he said, taking baby Anise away from Stephanie. "You must be one of the cutest nieces I've ever seen." He cooed Anise some more, before seating himself next to Jay. "What's going on?"

Stephanie shook her head at him before beginning to talk about the day's agenda.

"We're going to have a few more people come in later on today and set up some schedules," she informed them.

"If some schedules for a vacation are in that, let me know," Vivian said, placing her head down on the table with a thud.

"You feel okay, hun?" Jay asked her as he made his way to her.

"I feel fine," she stated as she waved her arm. "Just a little tired."

"Viv, what is that?" Paul asked her, standing to place Anise back into her carrier, then made his way to inspect a darkened spot on her wrist.

"What?" she asked, immediately hiding her arm under the table.

"Hold on a minute now," Jay breathed out as he gently took a hold of her arm. "Viv, what happened here?"

She looked at where his fingers softly prodded at the dark area. "Oh, nothing. I must have hit it on something."

Paul wasn't buying it, and by the way he straightened up and squared his shoulders before crossing his arms over his chest, she knew she'd have to explain to them.

"What happened, Vivian?"

The bland look on his face made her sigh, her shoulders sinking at the simple thought of their reaction.

"When I was over at Jeff's, we got into a little argument, and he grabbed me as I was trying to get into my car."

"What!" Jay stood, his shout nearly making her jump.

"Jay, it's fine – "

"It is _not_ fine when he's still goddamn grabbing you!"

Stephanie made her way to Vivian, sitting down beside her in order to look at the bruising on her arm.

"It's not that bad, right, Steph?"

"Bad or not, he shouldn't be touching you like that," Stephanie said to her, a sympathetic look in her eyes.

"Or at all," Jay put in. "What the hell is he thinking?"

Stephanie looked up, seeing the anger practically steaming from Jay's ears. She knew none of them ever forgot what Jeff had done to Vivian not even two years ago.

"I'm calling off all meetings," Stephanie quietly said. Vivian stammered out something, protesting her, but she held out a hand. "We're going to go out, get our nails done, and talk. The kids will be fine with the guys."

Vivian looked at Stephanie, softly taking her hand in hers, wishing that Jay had the calmness that Stephanie possessed.

"""""

_North Carolina – 6:45 PM – Matt's house_

"And why the fuck are you defending her, Matt?" he bit out furiously. Apparently, his brother still saw fit to take Vivian's side, even though she was far from the victim.

"Because you shouldn't have grabbed her," Matt said bitterly. "I don't care what she's ever done to you, you know how I can't stand that."

Jeff watched him pull out pots, the metal clanking together making his ears perk up to the sound. But his anger soon refocused on Matt, realizing that his older brother hadn't even bothered to look up at him.

"How long has she had you wrapped around her finger?" Jeff sarcastically asked as he sat down at Matt's kitchen table.

Matt stopped preparing the night's meal, pausing before turning around to face Jeff.

"You know, did you ever think that she did those things for a reason?"

Jeff's head snapped towards Matt in disbelief. "How can you justify her hiding my son from me?"

"I'm not justifying – "

"Bullshit if you're not! Six years that kid did not know me – "

"And he doesn't know you now, Jeff!" Matt bellowed. His lips pressed shut following the silence that lay between them. His words were soft and quiet as he spoke again. "He doesn't know you now. All he knows is that Jeff Hardy is his dad."

"And that's what I am. So what do you expect from me?" Jeff ran his fingers through his colored hair. Matt couldn't even imagine how distressed he was feeling about the whole situation. If he only knew a tiny bit, he wouldn't be putting this guilt trip on him.

"I expect you to have a little more sense than to manhandle her. Dad would whoop your ass, no questions asked." He turned back around to continue preparing the meal. "You just want to think that you're the innocent party in all this, when really, you put her through hell for years. And we all witnessed it."

"What are you talking about?"

"Really, Jeff?" he asked, turning his head slightly to look behind him. "This wasn't a one time decision for her. Things didn't just go bad once and then she decided she wouldn't put up with you anymore. It was years in the making."

"And none of you thought to tell me?"

"We tried to, Jeff. You just weren't hearing it, just like you aren't now. You refused to believe that you did anything wrong, and you always wanted to accuse her of doing things she never did."

"How do you know – "

"Because there was a night... She stayed with you all night – _all night_ – and that very next afternoon, after you woke up out of your stupor, you thought that she was out all night." Matt plastered a thin smile on his face, wanting this conversation to end as soon as possible. He was tired of it now, and he was tired of Jeff treating Vivian poorly. "But rest assure, she was there the _entire_ night. If you don't believe me, you can ask Shane and Shannon, and oh, ask dad too, because he was also one of the people who checked on her to see if she was okay staying with you."

Jeff sat back in the chair, his eyes suddenly going out of focus. He never realized just how much she'd dealt with for him.

"And you didn't even know she was there," Matt continued. "You don't even know the half of what she did for you, and to be honest, Jeff, none of us have the days available to tell you all of it." He took a deep breath in, excusing himself to go round up the guys for dinner.

"""""

_Somewhere in Georgia – 2:17 PM_

"Jay, stop it!"

"No, Viv! That motherfucker thinks he can just get away with fucking everything! He's always been that way!"

"Stop it, please!"

Vivian's cry out didn't stop him from walking off the bus. The shriek of her cry tore at his heart, but the thought of that Hardy made him want to strangle the life out of him. She'd been crying the entire time the bus was traveling to where Jeff was supposed to be. Furiously wiping away the tears that streamed down her face, she stood from where she knelt down on the carpeted floor to follow him off the bus.

"Jay, stop, please!" she pleaded again. But once more, her cries fell on deaf ears. He continued to march into a backdoor of the arena. Vivian tried her best to compose herself as she closed the gap between herself and Jay. Crew members and stagehands all stopped what they were doing, turning their attention to the duo.

"Where's Hardy?" Jay asked one of the backstage members. He felt Vivian's hands grab at him desperately, hanging onto the sleeve of his shirt. "Where is he!"

"What's going on, Jay?"

Vivian looked at the man who spoke, tears still blurring her vision.

"Mark, he put his hands on her, and I've got to get to him."

"Who?" the man known as Bubba Ray asked with his strong accent.

"It's n-nothing, Mark," she managed to choke out. "He's just o-overreacting."

"Overreacting my ass," Jay said looking over his shoulder at her.

Mark looked back and forth between the pissed of man and the distraught woman before him.

"Well, let me lead you to Dixie's office," he began, but Jay held his arm up to him.

"I don't want to see her. I want Jeff."

"Hardy isn't here tonight," a second man approaching said.

"Not here?" Jay questioned, his confusion quickly turning into anger. "Well fuck."

"Jay, come on, let's just go back." She continued to pull on his arm, a sigh of relief washing over her as he finally walked her way. The men said their goodbyes, but Vivian couldn't hear anything else but the sound of her sobs. His wrath rattled her inside. The look on his face as he was just thinking of getting his hands on Jeff placed a fear inside of her that she never wanted to have again.

By the time they reached their bus again, her breath had calmed, with only a few occasional hiccups. Must have been her nerves though. Jay would never fully understand how much he had shaken up her nerves. Sluggishly, she made her way back into the cool atmosphere behind him. She knew he noticed the way she gripped at her chest, silently asking her heart to beat normally, because he turned around to her, helping her find the plush couch to sit on.

"I didn't mean to upset you," he said quietly. "But he's going to learn one way or another."

She merely shook her head, unable to form words together correctly in her mind. Her hand fell from her bosom, and she sat up straighter on the couch. Of course she'd known that he would be angered at Jeff when he did find out. She knew they all would be... But his reaction had been the worst. It had taken Paul nearly an hour to calm him down, and then together, they'd found out where the company would be so Jay would have a meeting point.

But it all reached a boiling point that just went up in smoke. Vivian looked up at him as he paced a few times in front of where she sat.

"I don't want... you getting hurt," she breathed out. She heard her own voice crack under the threat of the tears that still weighed heavily on her.

"Me? Getting hurt by him? Vivy, are you kidding?"

She shook her head almost violently. "I don't care if you _think_ you can beat him. He's dangerous when he's mad, and I don't want you to get hurt because of some macho bullshit."

Her chest heaved again as the tears broke through once more. She lowered her head into her hands, feeling like she could just cradle into the couch, wishing it would swallow her whole. He approached her, dropping to one knee and taking her hand in his.

"He wouldn't hurt me, trust me, baby. There's nothing in this world that I would not do for you and our kids."

Tears streaming down her face, she cupped his face with her free hand, begging a smile to show through.

"You're too sweet, Jay," she managed to say. "Too sweet for your own good." She lowered her hand, shaking the one he was holding free, and wiped her face with the backs of her wrists. A small laugh broke though as she sniffled. "But I still don't want you doing this, regardless if you can or not. I don't need you to be tangled up in the same mess as he is."

Jay's face twisted in confusion. "What mess?"

She exhaled, letting out a shaky breath. "I don't want to get into details, but it caused us our life together," she admitted with a thinly pressed smile. "And I don't even want to imagine it happening again, especially with you. You've been my best friend for years, and I'd be losing a lot more with you than I did with Jeff."

He nodded, standing up so she could easily slip by him. He could only stand there for a moment as he heard the door to the back room click shut. She would lose more with him? What did that mean? She'd lost a husband, and a seemingly perfect ideal of a family. She'd lose more... Every scenario fluttered through his mind, but he calmly shook those thoughts aside for now as he headed towards the bathroom.


	39. Chapter 39

_Connecticut – 10:30 AM – Vivian and Jay's home_

Stephanie promised to come over for a brunch meeting. They both wanted to talk, about business and otherwise, but didn't want to draw attentions to themselves at the office. So as Paul and Jay left out on their flights even earlier that morning, Stephanie and Vivian agreed they'd spend the day together with their girls and Shawn.

Making her way down the street, with a double stroller being pushed by one hand, and Aurora holding tightly onto her other hand, she was just in time to smell the wonders of Vivian's cooking wafting through the front door.

"It smells so good in here!" she exclaimed, letting go of her oldest daughter's hand once the front door was fully shut. Turning her attention to the stroller, she pulled her middle daughter, Murphy, out and set her on the floor, where she promptly joined Aurora in the den.

Vivian turned around to see her pull baby Evelyn out and hike her up on a hip. The heavy pan she was holding nearly crashed down into the sink.

"Jesus, you scared me."

"Sorry," Stephanie apologized, making her way to the kitchen island. "I couldn't help it. You can smell it even before you open the door! What smells so delicious?"

Vivian couldn't help but laugh as she noticed her friend's feasting eyes pop out. "Well, we have a pot of sausage gravy," she started, Stephanie vocally expressing her approval. "Some breakfast pot stickers."

"What are those?"

"Like your average pot sticker, only I have put some bacon, sausage, and cheese in them," she answered, then moved on to the next small pot. "Some cheese eggs to go along with it. And here we have some oatmeal sweetened with just a touch of honey."

"Please tell me you made waffles," Stephanie nearly drooled out.

"Of course," Vivian replied, switching on the light inside the oven. "Being kept nice and warm."

"And please tell me that delightful aroma is what I think it is," she said, already heading towards where a few of the delectable items were sitting on a paper towel draining free of any grease.

"I knew you'd want some," Vivian smiled as she opened the second oven door to pull out a tray of fresh biscuits.

"Yes, yes," Stephanie mumbled out as she took a bite. "Your apple fritters are the best." She saw the older children gathering around the island, wanting in on some of the food as well. "Quick, hide them from the kids."

Vivian laughed along with her son and niece.

"Aunt Stephie, you're so funny!" Shawn giggled out, a hand closing over his mouth as he smiled widely.

"Isn't your mom crazy?" she jokingly asked her laughing niece. "Okay, kiddos, you three sit at the table." She opened a cabinet, pulling down plates and bowls. "Let's get you's fed."

"""""

"So," Stephanie said as she licked her fingertips. "You wanna start spilling it about you know who?"

They'd finished up with their brunch, Vivian cleaning up the small mess in the kitchen as Stephanie saw to that the kids were free of any roaming spills before sending them into the den to play and watch television. Stephanie still, however, had the plate of apple fritters before her.

Vivian simply looked at her as she dried the last pot to put away.

"He's just mad at the whole situation."

"Mad?" Stephanie repeated, baffled. "Viv, he's left bruises and scrapes on you. I'd say that's more than mad."

"Okay," Vivian sighed out. "I was talking with Matt, and he was telling me about how he had heard Jay asked me to marry him. We started talking about it, and that's when Jeff overheard it."

"Was he mad that you didn't tell him personally?"

Vivian shrugged and leaned her elbows on the island counter top. "I don't know. He just became... irate. I mean, on one hand, I understand it, but on the other, I just don't."

"Well, doesn't he have a new girl?"

She nodded, standing back up straight. "And I'm perfectly fine with it. She's a nice person. I don't mind her around Shawn. I thought he'd be fine with Jay by now."

Stephanie shook her head emphatically. "He still envisions you as his wife. It will be years before the notion really gets into his mind."

She scoffed, puffing out her lips, knowing Stephanie was right. "And me and Jay having Anise... As bad as it could ever be between me and Jeff, I'd still never want him to hate her. I don't want her growing up to hate him either. It would be nice if she could know who he was without any hostility on Jeff's behalf."

"Nah, she'll know him." She licked her fingers once more, quickly adding, "The good side of him." She regretfully pushed the plate of fritters away from her. "Once Shawn is old enough, he won't let anything bad happen to his baby sister."

That put a smile on Vivian's face. "I hope so."

"""""

_Connecticut – 11:59 AM – Outside of the courthouse_

Matt looked at his younger brother. They stood outside of the stone building, both smoking a cigarette. Vivian and Jeff had just settled their agreements, and everything was now finalized. Although Matt appreciated how Vivian willingly and openly shared custody of his nephew, he knew Jeff walked away without a scrape. She hadn't taken anything from him... Not a single red cent. She'd waived any monetary amounts she was legally capable of collecting from him, and she hadn't wanted anything else from him either.

"You okay?" he asked Jeff.

He nodded, inhaling on the burning stick. "Fine," he said, then casually flicked off some ashes.

Matt nodded as well, not completely sure as to what to say to him. He took a deep breath, jerking his head back to the massive building behind them.

"So, this is it, huh?"

Jeff replied, still looking down at his shoes. "I guess so." He busied himself with taking a moment to put out the cigarette. "Not like I had a fair chance anyway with Steph in there with her."

"Oh come on, Jeff. I don't even want to hear that bullshit," Matt scoffed, turning his head in disgust away from him.

"How is it bullshit, man? I wasn't going to get anything with Steph and Paul backing her up."

"Didn't get anything? You just better be glad that you still have anything."

"Oh, so what? You saying I deserve this?" He patted his chest with his hand, looking intensely at his older brother.

"No, but she didn't – "

"All I asked for was my son, Matt!"

"She didn't take anything, Jeff. And you'll have Shawn. Believe me, she wasn't going to take him from you in the first place."

"She tried to," he said solemnly, looking back down at the cement.

"She did not, Jeff. You just don't want to believe that she could be civil with you." He shook off Jeff's insane ideals about Vivian. None of that mattered anymore. Matt was sad to say, but he could see from the beginning they'd eventually fall out with each other. A person can't just put up with someone without it feeling like they can't do any more for them. "Anyway, if you knew how she felt about you and Shawn sharing your well-deserved time together, you'd stop being so damn bitter about it."

"Everyone acts like I have nothing to be bitter about."

Matt simply shrugged. "You really don't anymore."

"How can you say that?" he asked, gritting his teeth.

"Because you and Shawn now know each other, and are getting to know each other. You fighting with Vivian about her personal life now is just holding you all back. It holds you back, holds Shawn back to where he was before all this, and it holds Vivian back from enjoying her life now."

Jeff looked down at the ground once more. "Yeah, a life without me."

"It will never be a life without you, Jeff. Regardless of how this turned out, I think that first true loves don't just die out, and it's obvious that yours really didn't. Shawn was a product of the love you did have for each other, and no one can take that away from you."

Matt studied Jeff as he nodded in head in agreement. He knew Jeff was worried about never seeing his son again, especially after being kept in the dark about him for years. But somewhere along the line, Jeff had to move on from that. The father and son duo had years ahead of them, and if Jeff kept a tight hold over the fact that he felt like Vivian betrayed him, they'd never move on. They'd never grow together. They'd never have the life they should have together.

He knew Jeff had some growing up of his own to do, and he knew that Vivian was perfectly fine in working with him to better their son's future. He knew that Vivian would see to anything that Jeff and Shawn remained as close as they are now, and she would hope that they would become closer. Only time would tell of the great things they could achieve together in their relationship, and in their life.

"""""

_North Carolina – 3:15 PM – Matt's house_

"Hey, daddy!"

Shawn waved into the camera that Jeff held in his hand, a bright smile plastered on his face.

"Hey, son!" Jeff laughed back. "You having fun?"

Shawn nodded, "Mhm! Just waiting for some cake!"

Jeff lowered the camcorder down, looking around the yard for Vivian. "Well, your mom was supposed to have brought the cake out a few minutes ago."

"I got it, I got it," Paul said as the sliding door was opened for him from inside. "I won't drop it, calm down, ladies."

"Uncle Paul!" Shawn said as he approached his uncle. "Don't drop it, or else momma's gonna be really mad!"

"Well, if I drop it, we'll all be eating it off your head."

"Paul, come get this!" Stephanie yelled out for her husband.

By the time that Jeff had made another full round of viewing all the guests for the party, the only two people missing were Vivian and the birthday girl. Jeff made one more quick go around, and then the vision landed on Vivian and a squealing one year old Anise. His former wife had never looked so beautiful before, and Jeff had to admit, since he lifted the burden of his bitterness off of her, she seemed very relaxed around him. That was all he ever wanted to begin with.

"Happy birthday, birthday girl!" Vivian exclaimed as she sat down with Anise standing on her knees. The little girl seemed to know it was time to clap as they all began singing to her.

And that's when Jeff knew she was happy. That's when he knew he was happy. Although, he still sometimes wished that it was him still happily with Vivian, he knew that being in her life at all was worth more to him than selfishly staying out of it. He felt a warm hand take hold of his free one, and he turned to face Beth standing at his side. She was singing along as well, joyously cheering as Anise, with a little help from her big brother, blew out her candles.

"""""

_**A/N:** And that's it! Totally excited about finishing this story! And I sincerely hope that you all have enjoyed it. There may or may not be a few loose ends. Having the ideas for this over the span of more than a few months, I may or may not have thought things out clearly. If there's anything that's not been tied back in, I'd love for you all to let me know. That way, I could possibly tie it into the secondary story to this, Her Time To Live. Thank you once again to the reviewers and followers and favorites. I deeply appreciate it!_


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